Although many consider the Print Law obsolete, it does guarantee professional confidentiality and the protection of sources. On October 23, journalists protested against the proposed law by marching in front of the Palace of Government and the National Parliament with their mouths gagged. Later that day, the Senate withdrew the legislation. All defamation cases brought by public officials are tried before these special juries, which are not entitled to impose criminal sanctions. The first press juries were convened only recently, however, due to long-standing political and institutional instability and the inherent difficulties of assembling such large juries.
Local journalists say it is too early to assess their effectiveness.
Journalists in Bolivia must have a university degree in journalism and be registered in the National Registry of Journalists in order to exercise their profession. Though enforcement is lax, penalties are potentially severe. In 1985, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica ruled that mandatory licensing of journalists violates the American Convention on Human Rights. The La Paz daily Presencia received an anonymous bomb threat, the latest in a series of telephone threats that staff members had been fielding since early March. Bolivian journalists suspected that the threats stemmed from Presencia's reports on Marco Marino Diodato, an Italian-born businessman who was acquitted on February 23 of charges that included drug trafficking, money laundering, and involvement in an international Mafia ring.