Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: European Court of human rights

Date: 03/27/2008

Subject: The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, on account of the applicant’s conviction for defamation following the publication of a book in which he had criticised a scientific work. Relying on Article 10 of the Convention, Mr Azevedo complained about his conviction for defamation. Article 10 The Court observed that the applicant’s criminal conviction constituted interference with his right to freedom of expression. That interference was prescribed by the Portuguese Criminal Code and had the legitimate aim of protecting the reputation or rights of Mrs S. As to whether that interference had been “necessary in a democratic society”, the Court considered that the controversy in issue – the historical and symbolic study of a significant monument of Castelo Branco – was a matter of public interest. Bearing in mind that Mrs S. was the author of an academic work that had been published and was available on the market, she had laid herself open to potential criticism by readers or by other members of the academic community and could not be regarded as a “private individual”. Moreover, the Court found that the applicant’s comments, while admittedly having a negative connotation, sought mainly to question the assumed quality of the complainant’s analysis of the monument concerned. They were value judgments and, accordingly, were not susceptible of proof. Lastly, the imposition of a criminal penalty on the type of criticism made by the applicant would substantially restrict the freedom that researchers needed in the context of their scientific work. To allow for the possibility of a prison sentence in such a classic defamation case would inevitably have a disproportionate and chilling effect. The Court concluded that there had been a violation of Article 10.

Parties: Azevedo c/ Portogallo

Classification: Freedoms - Art. 11 Freedom of expression