On 9 February 2017, the European Court of Human Rights handed down an important judgment in Selmani and Ors v. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Application No. 67259/14), a case that considers the forcible removal of journalists from a parliamentary press gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
Case Law, Strasbourg: Selmani and Ors v. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: influential judgment on press galleries and parliamentary reporting – Jonathan McCully
15 02 2017Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Court of Human Rights, Jonathan McCully
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights
News, Strasbourg: Grand Chamber hears Article 10 data protection case of Satamedia Oy v Finland
27 09 2016
On 14 September 2016, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights held a hearing in the case of Satamedia Oy v Finland. The judgment was reserved and is unlikely to be given for several months. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Satamedia
Categories : Data Protection, Freedom of expression, Human Rights, Journalism
Case Law, Strasbourg: CICAD v Switzerland, Finding that allegation of “anti-semitism” was defamatory did not breach Article 10 – Calypso Blaj
27 07 2016
In the case of CICAD v Switzerland (Judgment of 7 June 2016)(French only), the Third Section of the Court of Human Rights held that a judgment finding that an accusation of anti-semitism made by the applicant was unlawful did not violate Article 10. The Court refused to engage with issues as to the definition of “anti-semitism” but accepted the conclusions of the national court that such a serious allegation could not be justified. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Anti-Semitism, Calypso Blaj, Court of Human Rights
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights
Case Law, Strasbourg: Bédat v Switzerland, Conviction and fine for a public interest article based on confidential criminal documents did not breach Article 10 – Calypso Blaj
7 05 2016
In the case of Bédat v Switzerland ([2016] ECHR 313) the Grand Chamber overturned the Chamber’s decision and reached the surprising conclusion that the conviction and fine imposed on the applicant journalist for publishing a public interest story containing information covered by the secrecy of criminal investigations did not constitute a violation of his Article 10 rights. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Calypso Blaj, Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber
Categories : Caselaw, Freedom of expression, Human Rights, Journalism
Case Law, Strasbourg: Ärztekammer für Wien and Dorner v Austria, Injunctions prohibiting attack on company’s reputation did not violate Article 10 – Hugh Tomlinson QC
23 02 2016
In the case of Ärztekammer für Wien and Dorner v Austria ([2016] ECHR 179) the Fourth Section of the Court of Human Rights held that an injunction prohibiting a doctors’ leader from criticising a company which provided private health care was not an unjustified interference with his Article 10 rights. Despite the public interest in the subject matter, the protection of the commercial reputation of the company justified the grant of interim and final injunctions. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Article 8, Court of Human Rights, Hugh Tomlinson QC, Right to Reputation
Categories : Caselaw, Freedom of expression, Human Rights
Case Law, Strasbourg: Peruzzi v Italy, Criminal defamation is OK as long as it concerns judges – Joseph Williams
18 07 2015
In the Chamber judgment in Peruzzi v Italy ([2015] ECHR 629, only in French) handed down on 30 June 2015, the Court of Human Rights dismissed an application under Article 10 by a lawyer who had been convicted of criminal defamation of a judge. The decision is a surprising and retrograde one in the light of the recent Grand Chamber decision in Morice v France (see the Inforrm case comment). Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Criminal Defamation, Joseph Williams, Judges
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights
Case Law, Strasbourg: Almeida Leitão Bento Fernandes v. Portugal, No violation of Article 10 in ‘roman à clef’ case – Hugh Tomlinson QC
27 03 2015
In the case of Almeida Leitão Bento Fernandes v. Portugal (Judgment of 12 March 2015)(available only in French), the First Section of the Court of Human Rights held that the a libel conviction and award of damages against an author whose novel was held to have libelled members of her husband’s family did not violate Article 10. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Novel, Strasbourg
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights
The Prince, his mistress and his lovechild: a feminist perspective on Couderc and Hachette Filipacchi Associés v. France – Nani Jansen
25 02 2015
Male celebrity has affair with woman. Woman shares story with public. Woman’s version of events gets shut down by the courts. The end. It is an all too familiar story that seems to repeat itself over and over again. When it comes to information disclosing the infidelity of powerful men, national courts have often been more than helpful in expeditiously securing the silence of the women involved in such affairs, accrediting more weight to the man’s claims of privacy, than the woman’s right to tell the tale of what was ultimately her affair as well. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, Prince Albert of Monaco
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights, Privacy
Case Law, Strasbourg: Pinto Pinheiro Marques v. Portugal, Public authorities, criminal libel and a mistake of law – Hugh Tomlinson QC
25 01 2015
In the case of Pinto Pinheiro Marques v. Portugal (Judgment of 22 January 2015, only in French) the First Section of the Court of Human Rights held that libel conviction of the applicant for damaging the reputation of a municipal council was a violation of Article 10. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Portugal, Public Bodies
Categories : Freedom of expression, Human Rights, Libel
The Right to Freedom of Expression and Information under the European Human Rights System : Towards a more Transparent Democratic Society – Dirk Voorhoof
14 02 2014
Some commentary on recent case law of the Strasbourg Court relating to freedom of expression, media and journalism might give the impression that the Court of Human Rights has lost direction. This impression would be misleading. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Court of Human Rights, Dirk Voorhoof, Strasbourg
Categories : Freedom of expression, Freedom of Information, Human Rights
