By Ronan Ó Fathaigh and Dirk Voorhoof

The European Court of Human Rights has held that the conviction and imprisonment of two Azerbaijani journalists violated their freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights. 

We, the undersigned organisations, welcome today’s judgment on meaning in the case of Arron Banks vs Carole Cadwalladr. The judgment clarified the context of the comments that form the basis of this lawsuit, and noted that aspects of the claimant’s argument were “far-fetched and divorced fro … read more

By Jane Whyatt

A delegation of Europe’s top media freedom campaigners has brought together the families and employer of murdered journalist Jàn Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová. 

We, the undersigned organisations, urge European Union leaders to call on Prime Minister Muscat to guarantee that all investigations and legal proceedings related to the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder are conducted efficiently, transparently and without any interference from any individual potentially implicated in the case.

The long awaited public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia will begin this Friday 6 December at the Law Courts in Valletta. For two years, our organisations have supported the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia in calling for an independent, impartial and effective inquiry. The inquiry will address questions including whether the State knew or ought to have known of the risk to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life; whether they failed to take measures … read more

by ECPMF

In a busy week for Turkey’s courts, the ECPMF sent two representatives to Turkey in order to monitor court hearings and to meet with journalists, defendants, lawyers, consuls and press freedom and human rights organisations.

by Frederic Krull

Finland, the self-proclaimed country of press freedom, holds the presidency of the Council of the EU for the next six months. On the occasion of the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in July 2018 in Helsinki, the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat launched a campaign to tell the US President that he had arrived in the  … read more

by ECPMF

The recent extradition of the Football Leaks whistleblower, who unearthed pivotal revelations of public interest, offers a unique opportunity for the European judicial system. To effectively fight corruption, the European Union must protect its whistleblowers.

By Jane Whyatt

The High Court in London has ruled that police wrongly classed a political reporter as a security risk because he was present when activists released cockroaches and locusts into a restaurant. 

by Jane Whyatt

A court in Milan has ruled that two undercover reporters supported by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom did not break the law when they infiltrated the Church of Scientology in Italy for the purpose of making a television documentary. 

by Daniel Leon

It's a giant leap for whistleblowers! A EU directive now protects whistleblowers by making it legal for them to break news on wrongdoing directly to media outlets or regulators, before first having to check with their bosses.

The EU is poised to take a momentous step and adopt a new directive to protect whistleblowers across Europe. This could have a dramatic impact on the capacity and ability of whistleblowing to work in all our interests. We know that protecting those who speak up in the public interest saves lives, protects our environment, reveals and stops corruption, and stems the huge financial losses to business and governments that result from failures to address wrongdoing.

By Emil Weber 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided that the German domestic courts were right to sanction the republication of a famous Swiss journalist and presenter’s photograph showing him without his shirt in a detention centre.

by Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 10. January 2019 that Azerbaijan’s failure to protect journalist Khadija Ismayilova from public humiliation and unjustified invasion of her privacy amounted to a violation of her privacy and of the right to freedom of expression granted by the European Convention.

The ECPMF, supported by three other FoX organisations, requests the Albanian government to drop its initiative on an amendment of media laws that raises serious concerns on the media freedom situation in the country. Read the joint letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama

by Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 4. December 2018 backed a Hungarian news portal for hyperlinking a Youtube video which, according to the domestic courts, contained “defamatory” remarks about an anti-Roma political party.

By Emil Weber

Istanbul based publisher Fatih Taş has won a fifth freedom of expression case against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

By Jane Whyatt

Strong views and heated debate greeted the new EU Copyright Directive. Journalists, publishers, musicians and film-makers are celebrating. But internet libertarians and Big Tech  giants on the other hand denounce the new measure, and especially Clause 13, as a so-called “censorship machine“.

By Emil Weber 

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued an important judgment, protecting the right of a photographer to communicate his or her work to the public. The ruling on 7 August 2018 further clarifies intellectual property rights in relation to digitally published and freely accessible work in the European Union.

By Emil Weber

An on-going trial in Rome, following criminal charges initiated by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and four of its officials against Italian Insider, may lead to the closure of Italy’s oldest English language newspaper and jail time for its editor-in-chief.

Sofia Verza, PhD candidate at the University of Perugia

Following the assassination of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, a group of European MEPs is calling on the EU Commission to promote an anti-SLAPP EU directive, to counter the attempts at silencing investigative journalism. This is a backgrounder on the so-called SLAPP suits.

By Emil Weber

On 19 July 2018 the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) backed an opposition politician from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (now known as Northern Macedonia) for publicly raising questions over property deals and potential involvement in the sales of state property by the head of the Security and Counter Intelligence Agency.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 17 July 2018 that the investigation into the murder of prominent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya violated the European Convention on Human Rights and was characterised by procedural inadequacies.

by Michael J. Oghia 

German courts were right to refuse permission for two convicted murderers to have their names and crimes deleted from media archives and search engine indexes. This is a crucial case for press and media freedom....

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a judgement on June 26^thprotecting an investigative journalist’s right to access, distribute and discuss leaked military files related to the activities of a Romanian unit in Afghanistan. 

By Emil Weber 

The Government of Kosovo approved advanced legislation to enhance the protection of whistleblowers on June 12, 2018. The draft law has yet to be passed by the parliament.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in a unanimous decision issued on 24 May 2018, backed the domestic courts in Denmark for convicting a broadcaster that promoted the activities of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and discontinuing their licence to broadcast.

by Emil Weber

Two award-winning Albanian journalists have won a long-running defamation case that sets an important precedent for press freedom.

By Emil Weber 

A new law has decriminalised libel in Malta. It follows months of criticism of the southern European country over media freedom, especially after the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, who was attacked with dozens of Strategic L … read more

By Emil Weber

The European Commission has praised Macedonia and Albania for recent progress regarding  freedom of expression, while Turkish politics continue to be most alarming.

By Emil Weber 

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 27 February 2018 that retaliation measures against a whistleblower by the state of Moldova amounted to violation of freedom of expression according to Article 10 of the European Convention.

The ECPMF offers and coordinates legal support on matters related to free speech for individuals and organisations working in countries located in Europe.

By Emil Weber

Six members of the European Parliament have called on the European Commission (EC) to swiftly initiate legislation to protect investigative journalism in Europe.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has on 13 February 2018 issued a judgement defending the right of a Ukrainian journalist to cover a demonstration in St. Petersburg during a G8 Summit. 

By Emil Weber

Russian customs officers violated a journalist’s right to a private life when they seized and copied files and photos from his laptop without sufficient justification, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on 13 February 2018.

By Emil Weber

A Swiss non-governmental organisation which promotes tolerance and anti-discrimination was right to call a politician’s statements “verbal racism” in its website, the top European human rights court ruled on 9 January 2018.

By Emil Weber

The European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 9 January 2018 against a Romanian civil servant who had released unauthorized information concerning a religious leader which was published by his brother in media.

By Emil Weber

The temporary closure of the Turkish newspaper Yeni Evrensel for publishing the names of two terrorism investigators amounted to a violation of freedom of expression, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 16 January 2018.

By Emil Weber

The Basic Court of Peja in Kosovo ordered the powerful Devolli Corporation to compensate a Kosovar journalist by paying him 15.000 euros for moral damages caused by an insulting campaign.

By Emil Weber

Newspaper Politis has warned of more scrutiny from the authorities regarding its articles on a case of hacked emails which revealed Cypriot prosecutors’ connections to Russia.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 23^rd January that a journal’s “moral criticism” of the family plans of a late famous Hungarian poet’s widow were not harmful.

by Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has protected the right of Turkish prisoners to openly honour a Kurdish leader, in its recent judgements.

By Emil Weber

"How could a judge restore the truth about a journalistic work when this work displeases the government and therefore accuses it of being fake news?" About the planned law against fake news by France's president Macron.

By Emil Weber

Media representatives and experts are criticising a new data protection bill being discussed in the UK Parliament for it is a possible threat to investigative journalism.

By Emil Weber

Every month, Albanian investigative journalists Mr. Besar Likmeta and Ms. Aleksandra Bogdani appear in court in a defamation case initiated by a powerful judge and his wife.

By Emil Weber

The Montenegrin investigative journalist, Mr Tufik Softić, has recently been awarded 7,000 euros by the Constitutional Court of Montenegro for the moral harm caused by the authorities’ failure to effectively investigate two cases of serious attacks against him.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has on 5^th December 2017 upheld the domestic conviction of two journalists in Denmark over their reporting on cancer treatment by the Copenhagen University Hospital and its consultant. They were convicted of defamation, which is a criminal offence in Denmark.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on November 21^st that the Turkish domestic justice has failed to protect the right to private life of a citizen portrayed in the media as a suicide bomber.

By Emil Weber

The top European human rights court backed a Slovak television company for sarcastic comments after the death of Polish President Lech Kaczyński.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 21^st November backed a Russian newspaper for its sarcastic portrayal of an administrative official as Osama bin Laden.

By Emil Weber

The Danish Union of Journalists (DJ) has criticised a draft law on trade secrets for failing to protect journalists’ sources and whistleblowers. And the European Federation of Journalists is supporting the DJ. 

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 4^th October 2017 that the right to protection of sources cannot exempt journalists from their obligation to verify information of factual nature. An Icelandic journalist, reporting in the context of 2008 financial crisis, was sanctioned for defamation after failing to prove some factual basis of his reporting despite his reference to the right of protection of sources.

by Emil Weber

The top European human rights court ruled on Tuesday that an altered picture of an Icelandic author accompanied by the caption “Fuck you rapist bastard” - published in Instagram by a citizen - amounted to an unsupported factual statement violating the writer’s right to a private life.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on 29^th August 2017 to back a domestic court decision in Greece. The court had refused a private citizen’s access to information request concerning a private litigation judgement involving two public figures.

by Mira Swaminathan

A new draft law was introduced in Romania in October 2017 that threatens the independence of the national news agency, Agerpres. The ECPMF is supporting ActiveWatch to further their resistance against this draft law.

by Marzia Bona

On October 24th, 2017, the European Parliament voted an important - although not binding - report on the need for a EU framework for the protection of whistleblowers. An overview of the process that led to the formulation and adoption of the document is published on the Media Freedom Resource Ce … read more

By Emil Weber

Legal acts in Russia prohibiting the "public promotion of homosexuality among minors” actually “reinforce stigma and prejudice” and “encourage homophobia”, says a landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 24^th October backed the domestic Turkish court for ordering a newspaper in Sinop to publish a reaction from the local journalists’ association.

by Emil Weber

The decision by the Irish courts to issue the highest-ever defamation award against a major newspaper publisher was disproportionate and amounted to chilling effect on the press, a recent judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) said. 

By Emil Weber

A German national and international businessman, Mr. Boris Fuchsmann, lost his application at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on October 19^th concerning the references to him in a wider article published by the "The New York Times" nearly sixteen years ago.

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has decided on that the German courts were right to sanction a major publisher with 10,000 Euros non-pecuniary damages for defamation against a private person by claims in a book about the mafia.

By Emil Weber

A newspaper editor in Fryazino, Russia, was unjustifiably sanctioned by the domestic justice following three articles published in 2005, according to a recent judgement issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).  

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has supported an investigative Romanian journalist who complained of a violation of her freedom of expression by the domestic courts concerning comments made in live television show. 

By Emil Weber

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that an Istanbul publisher was wrongfully convicted of disseminating propaganda through one editorial in favour of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and several international organisations.

by Emil Weber

The conviction of a Russian editor for inciting enmity through the dissemination of two articles amounted to freedom of expression violation, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided on Tuesday. The articles were supposedly written by Chechen leaders.

by Emil Weber

Fining a Norwegian journalist for refusing to provide evidence on the source of information amounted to violation of freedom of information on insufficient grounds, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Thursday. That is despite the claims of a convicted insider trader that he was the source. 

By Emil Weber

Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and its reporter, Ms. Yelena Valeryevna Milashina, were backed on Tuesday by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) over their reporting on a fatal submarine accident which had left 118 persons on board dead.

By Emil Weber

Three Icelandic journalists have won a long-running defamation battle over the difference between using the words “investigation” (rannsókn) and “examine” (skoðun) to refer to police actions in response to complaints that have received.

By Emil Weber

An appeal by Ms. Aynur Gambarova, an Azerbaijani journalist who was banned nearly two years ago from travelling abroad, has been refused by the authorities in Azerbaijan despite her severe health concerns.

by ECPMF

Ali Ergin Demirhan is the editor-in-chief of sendika.org and the weekly newspaper "Halkın Sesi" that are critical of the Turkish government. Following the referendum in April 2017 he was arrested. The ECPMF is supporting his legal defence.

by Emil Weber

The Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) backed on Thursday a domestic German judge for barring the media from publishing the identifiable photograph of a man who was alleged to have murdered his parents unless he was proved guilty.

By Emil Weber

A recent precedent of the The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) makes a distinction between journalists’ responsibility for defamation in claims made in published interviews and claims made in full journalism stories.

By Emil Weber

A European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment has backed a former prosecutor on his comments made in the press alleging corruption in the court system, based on the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He had been convicted and fined in his native Bulgaria, but now the government must pay him back the 7,565 euros, with costs.

By Emil Weber

Journalists in Kosovo have warned of attempts to silence the media and incitement of hatred following claims from a member of the Parliament that allege links between the local investigative news portal Insajderi.com and the activities of Serbian intelligence officers.

By Emil Weber

The case of a Romanian who was sacked from his office job in Bucharest has created stronger privacy protection standards, thanks to an important ruling at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

By Stijn Smet, Melbourne Law School

Imagine, if you will, two scenarios. The first involves four NGOs writing a private letter to the highest authorities of a Bosnian city. “According to our information”, the NGOs state in the letter, the newly appointed Serbian director of a public radio station has displayed a problematic attitude towards Muslims and Bosniacs. Her past actions, the NGOs claim, “absolutely disqualify” her from being director of a multi-ethnic … read more

By Ingrida Milkaite, Ghent University

The case of Bogomolova v. Russia concerns the use of an unauthorised photograph of a minor’s face on the front page of a booklet promoting adoption and help for orphans. It proves that the publication of pictures of children without parental consent may have a significant social impact on the family and may violate article 8 of t … read more

by Jane Whyatt

France’s biggest newspapers and media groups have formed advertising alliances to take on the commercial might of Google and Facebook. And in the UK, a campaign called Duopoly has gathered almost 200 signatures for a petition to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Duopoly has also won the verbal backing of Conservative Culture Minister Matt Hancock.

On March 24, 2017 the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom with the support of Council of the Europe (CoE) organised the conference “Promoting dialogue between the European Court of Human Rights and the media freedom community. Freedom of expression and the role and case law of the European Court of Human Rights: developments and challenges”. The conference took place in Strasbourg.

By Global Freedom of Expression

Case Summary and Outcome

The Landgericht Hamburg, Germany, a court of first instance, held that there was no violation of the personality rights of a right-wing politician who was called a "Nazi slut" during a satirical television show. In its decision, the Landgericht Hamburg recognised that the statement amounted to a form of political satire. It went on to acknowledge that a viewer would not interpret the term "Nazi slut" lit … read more

By ECPMF staff
For the last decade, the University of Oxford has been nourishing a unique undertaking, the Price International Media Moot Court, one of the world’s largest moots and an intense tool to spread instruction in the role of speech in society and the building of values in an emerging generation of leaders across the world.

ECPMF
Albanian journalists have been charged with defamation lawsuits launched by Gjin Gjoni – a member of the High Council of Justice, HJC – targeting two media outlets and four journalists. The ECPMF is supporting them financially to prepare their defense.

Editors across Europe make difficult decisions all the time. Is it OK to buy a gun without a licence, to expose lax laws? What about smuggling a knife onto an aeroplane, to highlight poor security? Or secretly filming a meeting to expose corruption allegations?

by Ingo Beckendorf

A journalist can assert a right to information of the press against an incorporated company for general public services which are controlled by the public hand. That was decided by the first civil division of the German Federal Court, the Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), on 16 of March 2017 (judgment rn.: I ZR 13/16).

by Annelies Vandendriessche

After re-examining the case in its entirety, the Court of Appeal of Luxembourg has reached a verdict in the LuxLeaks Trial. All three defendants requested acquittal based on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) concerning freedom of expression.

by Ingo Beckendorf

A Russian central district court has forbidden a cartoon showing President Vladimir Putin as a drag queen. Together with 4,000 other pieces of content, the picture is now on a list of supposedly extremist material. This means further censorship on Russian platforms.

by Tobias Raab

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed three appeals based on Article 10 CFA on 11 April 2017 (Times Newspapers Limited v Flood (Case No. A2/2014/0120), Miller v Associated Newspapers Limited (Case No. HQ09X04347) and Frost and others v MGN Limited ([2016] EWHC 855).

by Tobias Raab

On 8 March 2017, the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) of Stuttgart decided that an article about the so called "Panama Papers", which had been published by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2016, was permissible (Case no. 4 U 166/16).

This article was originally published by EFJ | European Federation of Journalists

Better contracts, more transparency in payments and a fair share of remuneration for journalists: these are on top of the agenda for the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in the latest consultation on the EU copyright directive. The EFJ is putting forward important … read more

by Ana Ribeiro

The Appeal Court of Luxembourg has halved the suspended jail sentence imposed in June 2016 on French whistleblower Antoine Deltour. The ECPMF supported Deltour’s appeal with €1,000, amid what became known as the LuxLeaks trial.

by Jonas Rusche

The Lithuanian radio and television commission (RTLC) suspended the Russian language channel “RTR Planeta” for three months, from 21November 2016 to 21 February 2017. Four days before the suspension period was over, the European Commission (EC) decided that this action was in line … read more

Gianna Iacino

Since 27 January 2017, the Turkish Authority for Information Technology (BTK) blocks the access to a not yet operational website.

Tobias Raab

On 30 December 2016, the Higher Administrative Court (Oberverwaltungsgericht, OVG) of Berlin-Brandenburg decided that, the German newspaper Tagesspiegel does have a right to access of information of the Federal Foreign Office regarding the legal assessment of the so called “Schmähgedicht“ (case no. OVG 6 S 29.16).

Ingo Beckendorf

On 28 November 2016, the Higher Regional Court of Berlin (Kammergericht Berlin) decided, that articles published in a blog can be categorised as journalistic-editorial content and therefore, the party concerned can have a right to reply (10 W 173/16).

Ingo Beckendorf

On 15 December 2016, the German Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) decided that, a publisher has no right to demand compensation for the seizure of a journal with reprinted Nazi-propaganda, when he himself contributed to the initiation of preliminary proceedings with his risky behaviour (case no.: III ZR 387/14).

Ingo Beckendorf

On 10 January 2017, the German Federal Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has rejected the libel actions of two journalists of the German weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” against the public service broadcaster „Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen” (ZDF).

Gianna Iacino

On 9 February 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that the forcible removal of journalists from a parliamentary press gallery constitutes a violation of art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Gianna Iacino

On 17 January 2017, the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that, the right of access to information according to art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) does not include a general right of access to the internet (application no: 21575/08).

Tobias Raab

On 12 January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that in an Ukrainian case of defamation proceedings, domestic courts had disregarded the high requirements of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to restrict political speech (case no. 19382/08)

Gianna Iacino

On 19 January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that a newspaper does not need to pay damages for calling an actress "completely unknown“ (application no. 52137/12).

Radenko Udovičić

On 20 December 2016, the Journalists Association and the Transportation and Communication Committee of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly held a conference in the Parliament building on ways of providing a sustainable system of funding for the Public Broadcasting System.

by Ana Ribeiro

A Malta magistrate has dismissed a libel lawsuit against blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia. The judge argued that her June 2015 post linking a suspected drug operation to a local entrepreneur was in the public’s interest, and based on evidence rather than defamatory.

by Jane Whyatt

Britain’s Law Commission proposes a new law that could lead to long jail terms for leakers, journalists and whistleblowers accused of endangering national security. 

by Ana Ribeiro

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that forcibly removing journalists from the Macedonian parliament while they were covering a debate violated their freedom of expression. The court also decided the journalists’ right to a fair trial in the case had been breached.

by Ingo Beckendorf

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the public service broadcaster in the United Kingdom, has won a libel lawsuit against an imam from London.

Gianna Iacino

On 29 September 2016, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations has adopted unanimously a new 20-points Resolution on the safety of Journalists calling upon States not to interfere with the right to confidentiality of sources by interfering with encryption technology.

Eugen Cojocariu

On 15 November 2016, the Romanian President Klaus Iohannis filed a motion with the Constitutional Court in Romania to declare unconstitutional the Law adopted on 25 October 2016 by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies (Lower chamber of the Parliament). The Law slashes 102 non-fiscal taxes and duties, among them the public radio and TV fees and the Environment Fee. The draft law, introduced by Social Democrats, had been adopted by the Romanian Senate … read more

Ieva Andersone

On 15 November 2016, the Latvian Association of Journalists published an announcement condemning the recently concluded criminal proceedings against a journalist for her investigative journalism activities.

Tobias Raab

On 30 September 2016, the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) of Cologne decided that the so called „Tagesschau-App“ of the Public Service Broadcaster ARD, as it was available online on 15 June 2011, violates the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty (Case no. 6 U 188/12).

Gianna Iacino,

On 25 October 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decided that the arguments of the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) for the conviction of a publisher for identifying reporting, are relevant, but not sufficient (Appl. no. 60818/10). Therefore, the conviction of the publisher violates the freedom of expression according to art. 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

by Ieva Andersone

On 15 November 2016, the Latvian Association of Journalists published an announcement condemning the recently concluded criminal proceedings against a journalist for her investigative journalism activities.

by Ingrida Milkaite

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the owner of a shop offering the public a free Wi-Fi network is not liable for copyright infringements committed by users of that network.

by Ana Ribeiro

A Spanish judge is trying to get 12 European media outlets to stop publishing any information related to Football Leaks. The gigantic leak points to tax evasion and other alleged irregular financial practices and deals involving stars from Real Madrid, FC Chelsea and other European football clubs.

Nani Jansen Reventlow and Jonathan McCully*
On 8 November 2016, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights handed down a much-anticipated judgment on the right of access to information. While the Court was clearer and firmer than it had ever been before on the status of the right to access information as part of the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the … read more

by Christina Etteldorf
The German Federal Constitution Court (FCC) decided on July 28 2016 (1 BvR 335/14) that reporting on information, which is already known to a large audience, violates the general right of personality less than a new publication about the same theme. Thereby the court established new criteria, which will have meaning for the balancing between freedom of the press and protection of privacy in the future.

by Gianna Iacino
On 27 July 2016, the England and Wales High Court decided a libel case based on the new public interest defence, placing an emphasis on whether the defendant “reasonably believed” the matter was in the public interest (Case no.: HQ15D01507).

by Annelies Vandendriessche
On 29 June 2016, the Correctional Tribunal of Luxembourg found Antoine Deltour and Raphaël Halet guilty of domestic theft, fraudulent access to a database, breach of professional secrecy, violation of trade secrets, and laundering and possession of illegally obtained material in the so-called LuxLeaks Trial. The trial concerned the large-scale leaking of confidential documents revealing tax deals concluded between large multination … read more

by Tobias Raab
The Highest Court of Italy has decided that media have to delete older articles from their online archives in order to secure the right to privacy. The decision was based on a case about media coverage about a lawsuit against an owner of a restaurant on the website PrimaDaNoi.

by Ingo Beckendorf
The press is allowed to take photos of judges who take part in a criminal case in more then three hearings. As well, the defendants can be photographed, even if they show their discomfort to the press members. However, the presiding judge can order an anonymisation by the press as far as some of the defendants are concerned. That was decided by the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) on 9 September 2016 (case numbe … read more

As part of the work of ECPMF, its consortium partner EMR, the Institute of European Media Law, has conducted a study on the state of press and media freedom in Europe. It describes and analyses media freedom at the European and at the national level, and compares the different legal frameworks that are relevant for investigative journalism, for example state and trade secrets, surveillance and secret recording. Countries included in the study rank from shining examples of press freedom like F … read more