Mediareport

Juridisch weblog voor de media

free speech

Case Law, EU: RT France v. Council: General Court finds ban on Russia Today not a violation of right to freedom of expression

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* This guest post was written by Ronan Ó Fathaigh, IVIR/Univ. Amsterdam and Dirk Voorhoof, Human Rights Centre, Ghent University and Legal Human Academy

On 27 July 2022, in RT France v. Council, the General Court of the European Union found that the ban on RT France in the EU did not violate the right to freedom of expression and media freedom, under Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Notably, the General Court sought to apply principles from case law of the European Court of Human Rights and international human rights law.

However, there are serious questions to be raised over the General Court’s reasoning in RT France, [Lees meer…] overCase Law, EU: RT France v. Council: General Court finds ban on Russia Today not a violation of right to freedom of expression

UK Defamation Act 2013 belangrijke verruiming uitingsvrijheid

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Een procedure in een Engelse rechtbank was altijd de nachtmerrie van veel media. Oliesjeiks, Russische oligarchen en buitenlandse multinationals vonden hun weg naar de Engelse gerechten. In Engeland worden astronomische bedragen toegekend aan partijen die een smaadzaak winnen tegen de media, terwijl media aan zeer strenge eisen moeten voldoen. Zie daarover mijn eerdere post op Mediareport (MR 2009-2981). Obama heeft in 2010 zelfs speciaal een wet in het leven geroepen, om te voorkomen dat Amerikanen in free speech zaken voor de Engelse rechter moeten verschijnen, de Speech Act.

In die situatie in de UK lijkt nu verandering te komen met de nieuwe Defamation Act 2013 (de toelichting staat hier). Deze nieuwe wet is ook goed nieuws voor Nederlandse media, gezien [Lees meer…] overUK Defamation Act 2013 belangrijke verruiming uitingsvrijheid

On BBC News about Holleeder’s lawsuit against Heineken Kidnapping movie

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bbc-news-2-february-2012BBC News had an item today about the release of Willem Holleeder. The BBC report also mentions the film “the Heineken Kidnapping” and comments on the lawsuit conducted by Willem Holleeder against the film’s producer IDTV. On that matter I have been briefly interviewed as IDTV’s attorney. Please [Lees meer…] overOn BBC News about Holleeder’s lawsuit against Heineken Kidnapping movie

Kidnapper fails to obtain injunction prohibiting release of Dutch movie on kidnapping of Alfred Heineken

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movie posterOn Oct. 28, 2011, the Court of First Instance in Amsterdam delivered its full judgment in the case of Willem Holleeder v. IDTV (verdict here, in Dutch). The judgment contains important guidelines for makers of historical movies (or other works of art) that mix fact and fiction. The court also confirms the principles laid down in the recent ECHR Mosley ruling.

The facts
In 1983, Dutch beer tycoon Freddy Heineken and his chauffeur Doderer were kidnapped by a group of five men, among whom the claimant in this case, Willem Holleeder. After having been locked for three weeks in two damp cells, without heating and chained to the wall, Heineken and Doderer were freed by the police. The kidnappers escaped with EURO 13.6 million ransom money, but were eventually [Lees meer…] overKidnapper fails to obtain injunction prohibiting release of Dutch movie on kidnapping of Alfred Heineken