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On 26 March 2008, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted a recommendation (CM/Rec(2008)6) on measures to promote respect for freedom of expression and information in reference to Internet filters. The recommendation and the underlying report acknowledge the ways in which Internet filters can impact on freedom of expression and information, and they stipulate the requirements of Article 10 ECHR in this context. The recommendation calls upon the Member States to take measures with regard to Internet filters, in line with a set of guidelines promoting user notification, awareness and...

The Slovak Ministry of Culture submitted a new draft of the Press Act to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in January 2008. This draft was adopted on 9 April 2008. If the President of the Slovak Republic does not veto it the National Council the Press Act should become effective as of 1 June 2008. The adoption of the Press Act was preceded by a number of discussions resulting in disputes among the political parties. The opposition parties consider the Act to be undemocratic, in particular because of the established right of reply, and they did not vote for the adoption. The adopted Press...

On 7 October 1994, in a programme aired on a Maltese radio station, the presenter and owner of the station, Mr Joseph Grima, made several vulgar, insolent and unfair remarks about the ex-Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority, Professor Joseph M. Pirotta. Amongst other things, Mr Grima claimed that the Authority’s ex-Chairman had regularly acted in an incorrect way, in a biased and discriminatory manner and on instructions from the Prime Minister. Professor Pirotta was also referred to by such appellations as “stupid” and “a fool”. The Authority’s ex-Chairman filed libel proceedings against Mr...

According to a Federal Constitutional Court judgment of 27 February 2008, computers owned by people who are suspected of committing a criminal offence may only be tapped using spying software if this is necessary for the protection of extremely important general interests. The judgment was in response to a constitutional complaint made by a female journalist who is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Association of the Die Linke party and by three lawyers, against provisions of the Verfassungsschutzgesetz des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (Constitutional Protection Act of the Land of North...

Following its decision on principle of 13 June 2007 in the case of the novel “Esra” (see IRIS 2007-10: 8), the Federal Constitutional Court again expressed an opinion on 12 December 2008 on the relationship between personality rights and artistic freedom, but this time ruled that personality rights had not been violated in either of the cases concerned. In one case, the complainant had filed a complaint against the performance of the play “Ehrensache” (“A Matter of Honour”, the plot of which is based on the events surrounding the killing of the complainant’s 14-year-old daughter) known as the “Hagen...