The ‘Disobedience’ of Journalists at Public Assemblies: An Analytical Critique of the ECtHR's Case Law from a Media Freedom Perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a group of cases in which journalists refused dispersal orders at public assemblies in order to gather news, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found certain governmental actions to have interfered with freedom of expression. Based on a doctrinal and conceptual comparative analysis, this article argues that the application of the ‘strict scrutiny’ perspective, repeated throughout several of these cases, could be improved by including a closer look at the risk assessments made by the domestic authorities in relation to the dispersal orders by the police. It provides an analytical critique and new insights in the field of media freedom. The analysis delves into the development of the ECtHR's case law and highlights the potential problems in guaranteeing protection under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), especially considering the consequences of the approach taken in the Pentikäinen Grand Chamber judgment.