Media Defence publishes a number of legal resources on freedom of expression law.

The UK Supreme Court has heard argument over two days in the case of George v Cannell and another. The question the Court has to decide is - What does a claimant need to demonstrate to rely on s3(1) of the Defamation Act 1952 in a claim for malicious falsehood? The Facts The respondent sued the…

On 4 July 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Grand Chamber delivered its judgment in the case of Hurbain v Belgium. The judgment upheld the lower chamber’s finding that an order to anonymise the subject of an article did not violate the publisher’s freedom of expression. Media Defence, along with a number of…

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has today issued its decision in the case of Bryan and others v. Russia. The ECtHR found that Russia had violated the applicants’ rights to freedom of expression and to liberty and security by arresting and detaining them following the protest organised by Greenpeace activists on its Arctic…

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has handed down its judgment in Sanchez v France. Media Defence intervened with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in the case. The relevant events took place in 2011 and 2012. The applicant, a politician, was charged with the offence of incitement to hatred or violence following…

Media Defence has filed an intervention before the Constitutional Court of Colombia in a constitutional challenge to two provisions of the Colombian Penal Code. Under Articles 220 and 221 of the Penal Code, individuals accused of making “dishonourable accusations” can face up to four-and-a-half years in jail. Those accused of libel face up to six…

Media Defence ha presentado un escrito de amicus curiae ante la Corte Constitucional de Colombia en una demanda de inconstitucionalidad contra dos disposiciones del Código Penal colombiano. Según los artículos 220 y 221 del Código Penal, las personas acusadas de hacer "imputaciones deshonrosas" pueden enfrentarse a penas de hasta cuatro años y medio de cárcel,…

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the criminal conviction of Luxleaks whistle-blower Raphaël Halet in Luxembourg in 2016 was a violation of his article 10 right to freedom of expression. In doing so, the Grand Chamber has made some important observations about the vital role whistle-blowers increasingly…

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, we look back at some of the cases we have worked on that have had positive outcomes for freedom of expression. To start with, we are highlighting the landmark MOVICE mural case, in which the Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in favour of justice and human rights. The ‘false positives’ scandal…

Media Defence has submitted a third party intervention at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Malkiewicz and others v UK. The case relates to a defamation action brought against the applicants over an article published in a Polish language newspaper based in London. The proceedings lasted around six years, and went…