The Council of Ministers has approved measures aimed at ending internet piracy and provides for the blocking or closing of sites by court order.
The new measures, which will be reviewed by several consultative bodies before being submitted to parliament in February, are being described as ‘balanced’.
In the case of a complaint concerning copyright infringement, this will first be heard and investigated by a new Intellectual Property Committee. The case will then be passed to a judge of the National Court for Contentious Administrative Issues and the court will have four days in which to decide whether to block or close an offending site.
The Government is keen to stress that any decision to block specific content or close a particular site will only be taken by a member of the judiciary and that law-abiding citizens sharing legal content should have no reason for concern.