How is freedom of expression protected in the European area?

During this seminar, professionals from France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Montenegro and the United Kingdom addressed the issues raised by the need to protect freedom of expression and information, through the prism of topics such as the rights, duties and obligations of journalists, the fight against online hate, the freedom of economic activities and freedom to criticise judges. They also looked at the issue of data retention in the European area.

Through a number of concrete case studies, the participants worked on the protection of journalists' sources in light of the European Convention on Human Rights, then on freedom of expression as protected by European Union law, and more particularly the question of personal data protection.
The seminar was an opportunity to take a closer look at some technical issues such as the difference between de-indexing and content removal.

The seminar was funded by the European Union and organised in partnership with the Instituut voor gerechtelijke opleiding-Institut de formation judiciaire (IGO-IFJ), Belgium, the Consejo general del poder judicial (CGPJ), Spain; the Scuola superiore della magistratura (SSM), Italy, the Krajowa szkola sadownictwa i prokuratury (KSSIP), Poland and the École de formation professionnelle des avocats des barreaux du ressort de la cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Bar School, EFB Paris), France.
It also had the backing of the Council of Europe, France, and the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN).

A 3-part seminar

Following on from this first session, a second one will be held in Paris in November 2021 focusing on the theme: "The public's right to be informed of legal cases". This session will take the form of a series of very practical workshops on the skills involved in writing a press release, using social media or holding a press conference.

For more information

A free online course is available from the Council of Europe's HELP network. Simply sign up in advance.
Course: Freedom of Expression (9 heures) (coe.int)
ECHR judgment of 9 March 2021, Benitez Moriana and Iñigo Fernandez v. Spain
Conseil d’Etat ruling of 1 April 2021 (No. 393099)

Belgian Constitutional Court ruling of 22 April 2021 (judgment 57/2021)

Just Free project: first seminar on freedom of expression