The application of the conscience clause for journalists in Spain. Problems and limitations of an incomplete model

Abstract

The Leveson Report on the British press, published after the phone-hacking scandal that culminated in the closure of News of the World and the detention of dozens of journalists, recommends the inclusion of a conscience clause in journalists’ contracts to protect them if they refuse to obey unethical orders. Spain was the first country in Europe to include journalists’ right to a conscience clause in the Constitution of 1978 and to develop it by an organic law in 1997. However, more than thirty years since its constitutional recognition, the balance to be made is negative. Spanish journalists feel under growing pressures coming from within their own companies, while the conscience clause is not perceived as an actual and effective remedy. In this article we explore some causes for the limited effectiveness of the journalists’ conscience clause in Spain.