CEDH · CASELAW;CLIN;ENG — 17 janvier 2012

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .sEB86A30B { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:14pt; page-break-after:avoid } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA241FE93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:18pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .s2EF62ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s8F2B0B1B { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .s9FF10068 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:12pt } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s5F48796F { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .s5CB9E8AB { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; border-bottom:1pt solid #000000; padding-bottom:1pt } .sDF790F1E { margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } Information Note on the Court’s case-law No. 148 January 2012 Kurier Zeitungsverlag und Druckerei GmbH v. Austria - 3401/07 Judgment 17.1.2012 [Section I] Article 10 Article 10-1 Freedom of expression Obligation to pay compensation to child victim of sexual abuse for revealing her identity in a newspaper article: no violation   Facts – The applicant newspaper published two articles concerning the case of C, a child who had been ill-treated and sexually abused by her father and stepmother. The articles were published during the latter’s criminal trial and gave a detailed description of the circumstances of the case, revealing C’s identity, her father’s and stepmother’s full names and their photographs. Given the significant media attention in her case, C had to be re-admitted to hospital for psychological problems. She subsequently filed a claim for compensation against the applicant company for publication of her name and the particulars of her case. Her claim was upheld on appeal and the applicant company was ordered to pay compensation in the amount of EUR 10,000 on the grounds that revealing C’s identity in a matter concerning exclusively her private life had been unnecessary and in breach of domestic law. Law – Article 10: The case concerned a balancing of the applicant newspaper’s right to freedom of expression against C’s right to protection of her identity. C was not a public figure and could not be considered to have entered the public scene by becoming a victim of a criminal offence which attracted considerable media attention. Further, even though the impugned articles dealt with a matter of public concern, the fact that neither the offenders nor the victim were public figures meant that knowledge of their identity had not been material for understanding the particulars of the case. The applicant newspaper had not been prevented from reporting all the details of the case, only from revealing C’s identity. The identity of victims of crime deserved special protection due to their vulnerable position. That obligation had been all the more important in C’s case as she was a child at the time of the abuse. Both the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and various recommendations adopted by its Committee of Ministers urged the States to take measures to protect the identity of victims of crime. Lastly, the sanction imposed on the applicant newspaper had not been disproportionate: the amount of compensation awarded appeared reasonable in the circumstances, in particular given the impact the articles must have had on C, who had experienced severe psychological problems and had had to be re-admitted to hospital. Conclusion : no violation (unanimously).   © Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court. Click here for the Case-Law Information Notes