Tillack v Belguim App no 20477/05 (ECtHR, 27 November 2007)
This European Court of Human Rights judgment deals with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Freedom of Expression) and the protection of journalistic sources. The applicant was a journalist who reported on allegations of irregularities in the European institutions, and on internal investigations by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Following a complaint by OLAF, the applicants home and workplace were raided and searched with significant seizure of property. It had been alleged that the information had been obtained following the payment of a bribe. The Court reiterated that the press played an essential role in a democratic society and that the protection of journalistic sources was a basic condition for press freedom. The searches in question had amounted to interference with the applicant’s right to freedom of expression even though the interference had been provided for in the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court emphasised that a journalist’s right not to reveal her or his sources could not be considered a mere privilege to be granted or taken away depending on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of their sources, but was part and parcel of the right to information, to be treated with the utmost caution. The court took into account the fact that a large amount of property had been seized and that the allegations of bribery were based on vague rumours.
Key quote from the judgment: ‘Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and the safeguards to be afforded to the press are of particular importance. Protection of journalistic sources is one of the cornerstones of freedom of the press. Without such protection, sources may be deterred from assisting the press in informing the public on matters of public interest.’