Cases

Kubaszewski v Poland

Held

Finding a violation of Article 10:

The allegation of money laundering was made at the appropriate time and place, the session of council having been devoted to deciding on whether the Board had made appropriate use of its budget in conformity with its obligations and the allegations of money laundering were part of a political debate. The allegation was not made personally against a specific person but against the whole Board. It was precisely the task of an elected representative to ask critical questions when it came to public spending. The domestic courts had not taken into account that the limits of acceptable criticism were wider for politicians than for private individuals and that the members of the Municipal Board thus should have shown a greater degree of tolerance. No fair balance had been struck between the protection of the Board members' reputation and the applicant's right to freedom of expression.

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