Compendium of Standards, Good Practices and Recommendations Contact with the media A minority of participating States prohibit members of the armed forces from speaking to the media entirely and require all contact to be channelled through an official spokesperson. This is the case in Malta. In other states, including Bosnia and Herzegovina,200 Ireland,201 Romania202 and Slovenia,203 service personnel are required to receive prior permission before giving comments or interviews to the media. Azerbaijan and Lithuania place no restrictions on armed forces personnel communicating with the media.204 Some states prohibit members of the armed forces from discussing certain topics with the media without permission. This is the approach in Estonia, Latvia and Montenegro. In Montenegro, for example, permission is required from the Minister of Defence for armed forces personnel to speak publicly about the following: the composition, organization, formation, training, readiness and combat readiness of the armed forces; military preparedness and mobilization; military equipment and weapons; deployment in international forces; command and control in the armed forces and the defence system; or decisions of the council for security and defence, as well as generally operationally sensitive matters.205 Other countries permit interviews but provide guidelines, as is the approach in Denmark, Finland, Greece and Poland.206 The restrictions or guidelines commonly make a distinction between different types of information that may or may not be provided to the media, such as classified information, identification of rank, unit or location, political topics, sensitive information and operational details. Reporting to official bodies Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany specifically address the position of members of the armed forces giving testimony to official bodies. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the requirement to obtain prior written approval from the Minister of Defence for public statements does not apply to those giving testimony before parliamentary committees or courts of law.207 200 Law on Service in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Art. 27. 201 Defence Forces Regulations (DFR) of Ireland, Regulations 29 and 33. 202 Romanian Minister of National Defence Order No. M.76/2016. 203 Response to the ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire, qu. 13 204 Responses to the ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire, qu. 13. 205 Montenegro response to ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire. 206 Responses to ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire, qu. 13. 207 Law on Service in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Art. 27(2). 99