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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2006/793.html
Cite as: (2008) 46 EHRR 3, [2007] EMLR 1, [2006] ECHR 793
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SECOND SECTION
(Application no. 42435/02)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
19 September 2006
This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of White v. Sweden,
The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:
Mr J.-P. Costa,
President,
Mr A.B. Baka,
Mr R. Türmen,
Mr M.
Ugrekhelidze,
Mrs E. Fura-Sandström,
Ms D.
Jočienė,
Mr D. Popović, judges,
and Mrs
S. Dollé, Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 29 August 2006,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
PROCEDURE
THE FACTS
I. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE
“The Court of Appeal finds, like the District Court, that the relevant information in Expressen and Aftonbladet depicts Anthony White as a criminal and as having a reprehensible lifestyle. The information has been liable to expose him to the contempt of others and consequently, as such, constitutes defamation.
The question then is whether there are grounds for excluding liability. Pursuant to chapter 7, section 4, subsection 14 of the Freedom of the Press Act, and chapter 5, section 1, subsection 2 of the Criminal Code, liability for defamation by means of printed matter is excluded if two conditions are met: 1) it would be justifiable to communicate the information, and 2) the information should be correct or the communicator should have had a reasonable basis for the assertion.
If the information is correct it may as a rule be communicated even if it is deprecatory, if this is justifiable with reference to the public news interest. However, there is no general right always to speak the truth if the statements are offensive. A balance has to be struck between the protection against offensive statements and the demands of freedom of speech. In certain situations the interest of protecting someone against offensive statements has to yield to the public interest.
Expressen has claimed that, on account of the public interest – the murder of the country’s prime minister –, it was justifiable to name and show a photograph of Anthony White in the newspaper. Aftonbladet, for its part, has asserted that, in the circumstances, it was justifiable to describe Anthony White’s personality and conduct.
The question of who killed Olof Palme attracted at the relevant time and still attracts considerable public interest. As regards the question of whether in the circumstances it was justifiable to communicate the information, the Court of Appeal agrees with the District Court’s assessment that it was obviously legitimate to write about the so-called “South Africa trail” and to present information in this regard. However, the question is whether it was justified to identify the plaintiff by name and picture in the manner employed and to publish statements to the effect that he was supposed to be guilty of large scale, serious criminality.
[The responsible editors] have asserted that the publications in question were not remarkable in view of the fact that it was commonly known who Anthony White was and of which crimes he was guilty. It emerges from the information that has come to hand in the case that, within certain groups in southern Africa and Europe, it was known that Anthony White had engaged in the alleged activities. It has also been shown that books have been published in which Anthony White has been named and his service as an elite soldier in the army unit Selous Scouts, which has a dubious reputation, has been described. The information in the case reveals that Anthony White has been much better known than he has wished to admit in southern Africa and among representatives of various organisations for the protection of animals and the conservation of nature in southern Africa as well as in Europe. Anthony White does not therefore appear as an ordinary private person with regard to whom there is a particular interest of protection.
In view of the above, and for the reasons given by the District Court in this respect, the Court of Appeal finds that it was justifiable in the circumstances to publish Anthony White’s name and picture in Expressen and to publish information about the person Anthony White in Aftonbladet. In so finding, the Court of Appeal has also taken into account that Anthony White had declined to comment on information presented by the journalists of Aftonbladet.
With respect to the question of whether the information is correct, it is word against word. Anthony White has asserted that he is innocent of all the accusations, that the information given about him was based on pure invention, that it is unverified or given by untrustworthy persons and that it was based on third or fourth generation hearsay, while [the responsible editors] appear still to assert that it cannot be excluded that Anthony White could be the person who murdered Olof Palme. The Court of Appeal concludes, however, that [the responsible editors], who have the burden of proof for their claims, have not shown that the disseminated information was correct.
As regards the question of whether there has been a reasonable basis for the assertions, the Court of Appeal takes account of the following considerations.
In defence of the publications in question, [the responsible editors] have asserted, among other things, that Anthony White’s name and picture have been published in international news media and on Swedish television.
In response to what has been stated in this respect, the Court of Appeal would point out that each newspaper is responsible for its own publication. Consequently, the fact that the name and picture of the plaintiff had already been published by other news services has not relieved Expressen and Aftonbladet of the obligation to make their own assessment of the credibility of the information. The fact that the information had already been published by other media shows, however, that these news services might have considered that there was a reasonable basis for the information.
In their defence, [the responsible editors] have also pointed out that, despite time constraints, they had careful checks made which gave an unequivocal picture of Anthony White.
It has been established that the main basis for the assertions in issue in the case was the statements made by [the former senior official of the South African security police] Dirk Coetzee and that the newspapers checked that information mainly by having the journalists who wrote the articles contact journalist colleagues, public servants [and] representatives of various organisations for the protection of animals and the conservation of nature. However, with a few exceptions, the persons contacted have not been named.
The contents of the testimony given by [the six journalist witnesses] before the Court of Appeal show that each of them separately has had high ambitions to find out the degree of truth of Dirk Coetzee’s statements and to check with reliable sources who the person Anthony White was. What has come to hand in the case reveals that the witnesses, each one through their own work, have received concordant information. Checks have been made with several informants in different countries and in different capacities. ...
Having regard to the above, in particular the checks made, and to the fact that the informant Dirk Coetzee also here [before the Court of Appeal] has given the impression of being a credible person, the Court of Appeal considers that the communication of the identifying information does not appear unjustified. In the Court of Appeal’s view, there has been a reasonable basis for the assertion and the reproduction of the picture in Expressen. The Court of Appeal further considers that Aftonbladet, in the circumstances, must be considered to have performed the checks that were called for. Having regard to this and the reasons given with respect to the publication in Expressen, the Court of Appeal finds that there was also a reasonable basis for the assertions in Aftonbladet.”
II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW
Chapter 7, section 4 of the Freedom of Press Act provides:
“With due regard to the purpose of freedom of the press for all, specified in chapter 1, the following acts shall be deemed to be offences against the freedom of the press if committed by means of printed matter and if they are punishable by law: ...
14. defamation, whereby a person designates someone as a criminal or as having a reprehensible lifestyle, or otherwise communicates information liable to expose that person to the contempt of others, and, if the person defamed is deceased, the act causes offence to his survivors, or might otherwise be considered to violate the sanctity of the grave except, however, in cases in which it is justifiable to communicate the information, having regard to the circumstances, and proof is presented that the information was correct or there were reasonable grounds for the assertion; ...”
Chapter 5, section 1 of the Criminal Code reads:
“A person who designates someone as being a criminal or as having a reprehensible lifestyle or otherwise communicates information liable to expose that person to the contempt of others, shall be sentenced for defamation to a fine.
If he was duty-bound to make a statement or if, in the circumstances, it was otherwise justifiable to communicate information in the matter, and proof is presented that the information was correct or there were reasonable grounds for the assertion, liability shall be excluded.”
Chapter 5, section 2 of the Criminal Code provides:
“If the offence defined in section 1 is regarded as gross, the person shall be sentenced for gross defamation to a fine or to imprisonment of no more than two years.
In assessing whether the offence is gross, particular regard should be had to whether the information, because of its content, the scope of its dissemination or otherwise, was liable to cause serious damage.”
THE LAW
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE CONVENTION
“1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private ... life, ...
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society ... for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
A. Admissibility
B. Merits
The boundary between the State’s positive and negative obligations under this provision does not lend itself to precise definition. The applicable principles are, nonetheless, similar. In both contexts regard must be had to the fair balance that has to be struck between the competing interests of the individual and of the community as a whole; and in both contexts the State enjoys a certain margin of appreciation (see Von Hannover v. Germany, no. 59320/00, § 57, ECHR 2004-VI, with further references).
Freedom of expression is applicable not only to “information” or “ideas” that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. This freedom under Article 10 is subject to exceptions, which must, however, be construed strictly, and the need for any restrictions must be established convincingly. Moreover, a constant thread running through the Court’s case-law is the insistence on the essential role of a free press in ensuring the proper functioning of a democratic society. Although the press must not overstep certain bounds, regarding in particular the protection of the reputation and rights of others and the need to prevent the disclosure of confidential information, its duty is nevertheless to impart – in a manner consistent with its obligations and responsibilities – information and ideas on all matters of public interest. Journalistic freedom also covers possible recourse to a degree of exaggeration, or even provocation (see Pedersen and Badsgaard v. Denmark [GC], no. 49017/99, § 71, 17 December 2004, with further references).
However, protection of the right of journalists to impart information on issues of general interest requires that they should act in good faith, on an accurate factual basis, and provide “reliable and precise” information in accordance with the ethics of journalism. Under the terms of paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Convention, freedom of expression carries with it “duties and responsibilities”, which also apply to the media even with respect to matters of serious public concern. Moreover, these “duties and responsibilities” are liable to assume significance when there is a question of attacking the reputation of a named individual and infringing the “rights of others”. Thus, special grounds are required before the media can be dispensed from their ordinary obligation to verify factual statements that are defamatory of private individuals. Whether such grounds exist depends in particular on the nature and degree of the defamation in question and the extent to which the media can reasonably regard their sources as reliable with respect to the allegations. Also of relevance for the balancing of competing interests which the Court must carry out, is the fact that, under Article 6 § 2 of the Convention, individuals have a right to be presumed innocent of any criminal offence until proven guilty (ibid., § 78, with further references).
In view of the above, the Court considers that, in the series of articles, the newspapers endeavoured to present an account of the various allegations made which was as balanced as possible in the particular circumstances. Furthermore, having regard to the persons contacted in order to have the allegations verified, the journalists involved must be considered to have acted in good faith.
There has accordingly been no violation of that Article.
FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT UNANIMOUSLY
Done in English, and notified in writing on 19 September 2006, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
S. Dollé J.-P. Costa
Registrar President