Under this rule, five Croatian journalists and a newspaper contributor have been accused of contempt of court by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"IPI/SEEMO appeals to the ICTY to urgently change its rules dealing with contempt of court so that internationally acknowledged principles of press freedom are upheld.," reads a press release issued by the IPO/SEEMO on Friday.
"According to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the judicial practice of many democracies, the imprisonment of a journalist for dissemination of classified information is always a disproportionate punishment, and its chilling effect hinders unconstrained debate of public issues," the press release reads.
The Croatian journalists, indicted by the ICTY under Rule 77, can be sentenced up to seven years in jail and fined up to 100,000 euros.
"The right to access to information of public concern should be recognised everywhere," said Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO Secretary General, adding that "journalists should not be held liable for the possession or publication of classified documents, particularly where such information may already be publicly available."