Judgment concerning Romania
In the case of Alexandru Pătraşcu v. Romania the Court held that there had been a violation of the freedom of expression on account of the applicant’s conviction for statements made by him on his Facebook page, and in relation to the applicant’s conviction for the comments made by third parties on his Facebook page.
The case concerned the applicant’s liability for his statements and the comments published on his Facebook page. As a passionate fan of opera and classical music, the applicant covered a scandal involving the National Opera in Bucharest, which had given rise to extremely strong feelings. He was ordered to pay compensation for the damage caused by the many posts published on his Facebook page. The appellate court found that 22 comments exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and ought to be punished, and that four messages written by the applicant had interfered with the rights and legitimate interests of others.
The Court noted that the factual context of the case could have been used to assess whether each of the applicant’s contested statements had contributed to a debate of public interest. It considered that the national authorities had failed to conduct a proper balancing exercise with a view to demonstrating that the civil judgment against the applicant had corresponded to a “pressing social need”.
With regard to the civil judgment against the applicant for the comments made by third parties on his Facebook page, the Court considered that the legal provisions relied on and interpreted in the present case by the national courts had not been sufficiently clear and detailed to afford appropriate protection against interference by the authorities with the applicant’s right to freedom of expression.