Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.54070/hljk.28.2.8
Judgments and Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in Cases Against the Republic of Croatia for Violation of the Right to Freedom of Expression – With Special Reference to the Judgment in N. Š. V. Croatia
Lidija Horvat
; Odvjetnica, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Vedran Ramadanović
; Odvjetnik, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
This paper analyses recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (hereinafter: ECtHR, the Court) in relation to the Republic of Croatia in which violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter: the Convention) refers to criminal convictions for defamation and insult before national courts.
The paper presents judgments in which the ECtHR pointed out that certain expressions do not fall within the scope of Article 10 of the Convention. In addition, judgments were also chosen related to the matter of imposing a sentence for contempt of court and which are particularly interesting from the point of view of the freedom of expression of the parties and the lawyers in the courtroom.
A particular review and analysis are given related to the recent judgment of the ECtHR in N.Š. v. Croatia where the Court found a violation of the freedom of expression before the national court in proceedings where the applicant was found guilty of the criminal offence of breach of secrecy of the proceedings.
A violation of freedom of expression in criminal proceedings is mostly associated with criminal offences against honour and reputation, but the same is also possible by a conviction for criminal offences under various chapters of the Criminal Code. Even though this issue has recently appeared more within civil proceedings, it is still topical from the criminal theory and practice point of view. This is supported by the fact that from 2020 to 2021 there were as many as four judgments of the ECtHR (out of a total of five) referring to violations related to criminal proceedings before domestic courts.
The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the standards of the Court applied in those proceedings, in order to enable the procedural participants, primarily judges, lawyers and state attorneys, to manage more easily and apply those standards in concrete cases, while encouraging at the same time the lawmaker in its de lege ferenda thinking.
Keywords
European Court of Human Rights; freedom of expression; right to honour and reputation; authority of judicial power; protection of secrecy of the proceedings
Hrčak ID:
272802
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2021.
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