Landmark decision on freedom of information by the European Court of Human Rights
NEW YORK, April 17, 2009—The Open Society Justice Initiative today applauded a decision by the European Court of Human Rights expanding the right of watchdog groups to access government information.
The decision, handed down earlier this week, recognized for the first time that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the “freedom to receive information” held by public authorities. The court noted the important role played by the media and other independent monitors in creating “forums for public debate” and emphasized that any interference with the ability of such groups to obtain information of public interest must be able to withstand the “most careful scrutiny.” The court emphasized that governments have an obligation “not to impede the flow of information” on matters of public concern.
In 2004, a member of the Hungarian parliament filed a complaint with the country’s Constitutional Court over Hungary's national drug laws. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union—a rights group active in the field of drug policy—applied to that court to receive a copy of the complaint. Both the Constitutional Court and Hungary's regular courts denied the request on privacy grounds. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union took the case to the European Court of Human Rights alleging that the denial interfered with its right to access state-held information necessary to fulfill its role as a public watchdog.
This week’s decision will help ensure that nongovernmental organizations in Europe and elsewhere can continue their important roles as government monitors and contributors to policy debates. In the words of the court, it would be “fatal” for democratic openness “if public figures could censor the press and public debate in the name” of their privacy rights.
The European court is now the second regional human rights tribunal, after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, to recognize that the “freedom to receive and impart information and ideas,” guaranteed by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights as well as regional human rights treaties, includes a right to receive information of public interest held by government authorities. Both courts highlighted the strong connections among the right to information, freedom of expression, and democratic accountability.
The Justice Initiative led the effort by nongovernmental organizations and media companies, including Access Info Europe and the Financial Times, to intervene as third parties in the case. The brief filed with the court is available at: http://www.justiceinitiative.org/db/resource2?res_id=104233. For more information, see also http://tasz.hu/en/news/echr
HCLU has also been active in domestic FOI litigation. In September 2008, they won a case in the Regional Court of Appeals that ordered the Hungarian Ministry of Development and Economics to disclose information concerning investments worth 200 billion Hungarian forints (nearly 800 million euros) that, according to the Ministry, Swedish companies had made in exchange for the purchase of (Swedish) Gripen fighter-jets by the Hungarian Air Force. In addition to litigation, HCLU conducted a successful media campaign that resulted in the release of the information.
Read more about the so-called Gripen case.
