Cases

Verein gegen Tierfabriken Schweiz (VgT) v Switzerland (No.2)

Held

Holding a violation of Article 10:

(a) There is little scope under Art 10(2) for restrictions on political speech or on debates of questions of public interest. The television commercial concerned battery pig-farming and related to consumer health and animal and environmental protection, which were matters undeniably in the public interest.

(b) The interference in issue was not ‘necessary’ in a democratic society because the authorities had not demonstrated why the general prohibition on ‘political’ advertising could justify the interference in this particular case. Moreover, prior restraints on publication entail such dangers that they call for the most public scrutiny.

(c) That the public interest in dissemination of a publication does not necessarily decrease with the passing of time and the authorities had not shown that after the judgment of June 2001, the circumstances had changed to such an extent as to cast doubt on the validity of the court’s original finding.

Also