Strategic Litigation
Media Defence undertakes strategic litigation to improve the legal environment in which the media work and to secure remedies following violations of their rights.
We are actively involved in a wide range of press freedom cases before international bodies, regional courts and the highest domestic courts across the world. We bring cases on behalf of journalists, citizen journalists and independent media and as third party interveners.
Our strategic litigation covers a wide range of issues faced by the media, including free speech online, the use of criminal laws to target legitimate speech, judicial harassment, source protection, arbitrary detention and torture, and violence and impunity.
In 2022, we had an 84% success rate for strategic cases at international mechanisms.
European Implementation Network
We work with the European Implementation Network (EIN) in their project focused on safeguarding freedom of expression in the Council of Europe member States. As a participant to this project, we are dedicated to promoting this fundamental right and the effective implementation of the relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as to advocating for reforms aimed at effectively protecting free speech.
Featured Litigation
Hungary: When the GDPR Became a Gag
How the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union turned a six-year thicket of data-protection cases into a paradigm shift for press freedom To understand how
Banned, Fined, Imprisoned: Saba Sutidze on Georgia's Press Crackdown
In this edition of Press Freedom Advocates, Media Defence speaks with Saba Sutidze, a human rights and media lawyer at
Strategic Litigation News
Khadija Ismayilova Secures Win against Azerbaijan at European Court
The European Court of Human Rights has found that the criminal conviction of Khadija Ismayilova, a renowned Azeri journalist and
Danileţ v. Romania: Sanction against Judge over Facebook posts held to Violate Freedom of Expression by ECtHR Grand Chamber
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has held that a disciplinary sanction imposed on the applicant,
Azadliq Newspaper v. Azerbaijan: ECtHR finds Azerbaijan Failed in Press Freedom Case
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Azerbaijan violated the right to freedom of expression of Azadliq, a
Arshad Sharif: 3 Years On Impunity Persists
Today marks three years since the killing of prominent Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif who was fatally shot at close range
Watch our Webinar: From Judgments to Justice: Human Rights Bodies vs. Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
On Monday, 3 November 2025, Media Defence held a case-driven conversation on how regional courts and UN mechanisms can help
Media Defence amicus filed at ECtHR in Georgia Foreign Agent Law case
Media Defence has filed a third-party intervention at the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’) in the case of Georgian