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On 10 December 2015, the District Court of the Hague delivered a comprehensive criminal judgment in a case against nine suspects of an international organisation with terrorist intent. The suspects were amongst many other things accused of crimes against the public order under Articles 131 and 132 of the Dutch Criminal Law (Sr). Article 131 Sr criminalises incitement to violence against public authorities and incitement to criminal offences through speech, writings or images. Article 132 Sr criminalises stocking such images or writings with the intent of making them publically available, if the...

On 23 December 2015, the District Court of Amsterdam handed down a ruling in a case involving Anne Frank’s diary. The case was brought by the Swiss Anne Frank Fonds against the Anne Frank Stichting and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). It dealt with the alleged expiration of copyright in Anne Frank’s diary and reproductions made by Huygens ING, a research institute affiliated with the KNAW. The Anne Frank Fonds holds the copyright to Anne Frank’s diaries. In 2008, all parties assumed that the copyright to Anne Frank’s diaries would expire on 1 January 2016, 70 years after...

In a judgment on preliminary relief proceedings on 15 December 2015, the District Court of Amsterdam ruled that the Dutch public broadcaster PowNed acted unlawfully towards a Syrian refugee. PowNed broadcast video images in which the plaintiff refugee talked about a medical problem with his testicles and seemed to express an aversion to homosexuality. PowNed also shared the fragment on its Facebook page, where it was widely viewed, shared, liked and received many negative comments. The footage was made during a conversation between the plaintiff and a reporter of PowNed while she visited a temporary...

The Hague Court of Appeals has ruled that Ministry of Justice restrictions placed on a journalist concerning pictures and video footage taken inside detention centres violate freedom of expression and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The case arose following a request from a journalist to the Ministry seeking permission to take pictures and video footage at certain detention facilities. The Ministry initially rejected the request, but following negotiation, the Ministry agreed to grant permission for taking footage, provided the journalist enter into a contract setting out when and...

For 25 years the Commissariaat voor de Media (the Dutch Media Authority) has been the monitor of the Dutch media sector, seeking to safeguard its pluralistic and independent character. An annual report, called Mediamonitor, gives insights into the sector’s latest trends, media corporations and markets (for previous reports see IRIS 2015-1/34, IRIS 2011-5/35 and IRIS 2006-1/33). The latest report, published on 23 November 2015, mainly focuses on two themes: the independence of the media and the transparency of media institutions. Subsequently, it highlights some specific trends shown by contemporary...