The Court said: ‘The Court has also emphasised on numerous occasions that, although the public has a right to be informed, and this is an essential right in a democratic society which, in certain special circumstances, can even extend to aspects of the private life of public figures, articles aimed solely at satisfying the curiosity of a particular readership regarding the details of a person’s private life, however well-known that person might be, cannot be deemed to contribute to any debate of general interest to society (see Von Hannover, cited above, para 65; MGN Ltd v United Kingdom, no 39401/04, [2011] ECHR 66, para 143, 18 January 2011; and Alkaya v Turkey, no. 42811/06, [2012] ECHR 1790, para 35, 9 October 2012).
Thus, an article about the alleged extra-marital relationships of high-profile public figures who were senior State officials contributed only to the propagation of rumours, serving merely to satisfy the curiosity of a certain readership (see Standard Verlags GmbH v Austria (No 2), no 21277/05, [2009] ECHR 853, para 52, 4 June 2009). Equally, the publication of photographs showing scenes from the daily life of a princess who exercised no official functions was aimed merely at satisfying the curiosity of a particular readership (see Von Hannover, cited above, para 65, with further references). The Court reiterates in this connection that the public interest cannot be reduced to the public’s thirst for information about the private life of others, or to the reader’s wish for sensationalism or even voyeurism.’
40454/07 (Judgment (Merits and Just Satisfaction) : Court (Grand Chamber)), [2015] ECHR 992
Bailii
European Convention on Human Rights
Citing:
Cited – Couderc And Hachette Filipacchi Associes v France ECHR 12-Jun-2014
. .
Cited by:
Cited – PJS v News Group Newspapers Ltd SC 19-May-2016
The appellants had applied for restrictions on the publication of stories about their extra marital affairs. The Court of Appeal had removed the restrictions on the basis that the story had been widely spread outside the jurisdiction both on the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Human Rights, Media
Updated: 06 January 2022; Ref: scu.554619