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192 Communication Theory & Research
TABLE 15.1 THE ADOPTING BODIES OF THE EUROPEAN CODES

Code adopted by
Journalists Journalists Press State and Press
Code by journalists of only and publishers council journalists council a
1. Austria X X
2. Belgium X X
3. Bulgaria X
4. Catalonia b X
5. Croatia X
6. Czech Republic X
7. Denmark X X
8. Finland X X
9. France X
10. Germany X X
11. Greece X X
12. Hungary X
13. Iceland X X
14. Ireland X
15. Italy X X
16. Latvia X
17. Luxembourg X X
18. Malta X X
19. Netherlands X X
20. Norway X X
21. Poland X
22. Portugal X X
23. Russia X
24. Slovak Republic X
25. Slovenia X X
26. Spain X
27. Sweden X X
28. Switzerland X X
29. Turkey X X
30. UK I X
31. UK II X X
Total 20 5 5 1 18
a
Here the existence or non-existence of a press council in the countries examined is presented
according to Sonninen and Laitila (1995). In addition to the ones listed here, there are councils alsoin
Estonia and Romania.
b
The Catalan code is the only regional code of ethics included in the study.

the unions or associations of journalists (20 codes). The second and third largest
groups include the codes adopted by press councils (five codes) and the codes
adopted by the journalists’ and publishers’ associations jointly (five codes).
Finally, one code, that of Denmark, is adopted by the state and the journalists
together.
Denmark’s National Code of Conduct is unique among the codes examined,
being introduced as a part of the Danish media law, the Media Liability Act, in