Judgment concerning Serbia
08/04/25
In the case of Backović v. Serbia (no. 2) the Court held that there had been no violation of the freedom of expression.
The case concerned a fine imposed on the applicant – a lawyer – for contempt of court in election-related proceedings, in which he sought an acknowledgement that he, and six other individuals, were still city councillors. Among other things, he had called the decision “a supreme nonsense” and the judges in the case “legal geniuses”.
The Court noted that the terms used by the applicant – such as “legal giants” and legal “ingenuity” – had ridiculed the professionalism of the judge in question and the court. It found that sufficient reasons had been given for the fine, and it had not been disproportionate.