A/HRC/7/14 Page 16 41. International human rights instruments recognize the right to a reputation (e.g. art. 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “No one shall be subject … to attacks upon his honour and reputation”). However, three clear-cut conditions must be respected for any limitation on the right to freedom of expression: (a) restrictions must be established in law; (b) they should pursue an aim recognized as lawful, and (c) they must be proportional to the accomplishment of that aim. A number of problems are often present in the actual implementation of these three conditions. 42. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the large number of cases of journalists who are imprisoned after being convicted on criminal defamation charges. Apart from outright imprisonment and preventive detention, other common measures that have been taken against media professionals include the imposition of heavy fines, often completely inconsistent with a journalist’s income, the suspension of the journalist’s professional licence and even the suspension or closing of media outlets. The Special Rapporteur considers these measures as inconsistent with the principle of proportionality and therefore an undue restriction of press freedom. Furthermore, these measures are even more harmful for independent, local or freelance journalists, who are generally unable to afford the expenses of long judicial proceedings, legal counsel and fines. 43. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur, along with the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and the OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, in a joint declaration issued in December 2002, stated that “criminal defamation is not a justifiable restriction on freedom of expression; all criminal defamation laws should be abolished and replaced, where necessary, with appropriate civil defamation laws”. The Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction that many countries have recently decided to abolish their criminal defamation laws. He reiterates that, while awaiting the entry of force of this legislation, emergency measures such as amnesty or pardon should be taken to ensure that no media profession or any other citizen is incarcerated on charges of defamation. Furthermore, any fines arising from civil defamation procedures should also respect the principle of proportionality and should never surpass reasonable amounts. States of exception and emergency