Studio Monitori and Others v. Georgia

Information Note on the Court’s case-law 236January 2020Studio Monitori and Others v. Georgia - 44920/09 and 8942/10Judgment 30.1.2020 [Section V]Article 10Article 10-1Freedom to impart informationFreedom to receive informationCourts’ denial of applicants’ unmotivated requests to access criminal files concerning unrelated third parties, not instrumental for exercise of freedom-of-expression rights: no violationFacts – The first and second applicants are a non-governmental organisation and a journalist. They were denied access to a case file concerning a criminal case unrelated to them. The third applicant, a practising lawyer, unsuccessfully requested copies of detention orders in six criminal cases totally unrelated to him.Law – Article 10: In order to determine whether Article 10 could be said to apply to a public authority’s refusal to disclose information, the situation had to be ass …