Lingens v. Austria

Lingens v. Austria

Lingens v. Austria (8 E.H.R.R. 407) was a 1986 European Court of Human Rights case that placed restrictions on libel laws because of the freedom of expression provisions of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Lingens was fined for publishing in a Vienna magazine comments about the behavior of the Austrian Chancellor, such as 'basest opportunism', 'immoral' and 'undignified'. Under the Austrian criminal code the only defense was proof of the truth of these statements. Lingens could not prove the truth of these value judgments. The European Court of Human Rights stated that a careful distinction needed to be made between facts and value judgments/opinions. The existence of facts can be demonstrated, whereas the truth of value judgments is not susceptible of proof. The facts on which Lingens founded his value judgments were not disputed; nor was his good faith. Since it was impossible to prove the truth of value judgments, the requirement of the relevant provisions of the Austrian criminal code was impossible of fulfilment and infringed article 10 of the Convention.

External links

* [http://www.worldlii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/1986/7.html Text of decision]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • AUSTRIA — AUSTRIA, country in Central Europe. Middle Ages Jews lived in Austria from the tenth century. However the history of the Jews in Austria from the late Middle Ages was virtually that of the Jews in vienna and its environs. In the modern period,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Defamation — This article is about the malicious statement. For the 2009 film, see Defamation (film). Libel and Slander redirect here. For other uses, see Libel (disambiguation) and Slander (disambiguation). Vilification and Calumny redirect here. For the… …   Wikipedia

  • European Convention on Human Rights — ECHR redirects here. For the Court which enforces the Convention, see European Court of Human Rights. Not to be confused with European Convention (1999 2000) or Convention on the Future of Europe. European Convention on Human Rights The… …   Wikipedia

  • Article 10 ECHR — Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are in accordance with law and necessary in a democratic society . This right includes the freedom to hold… …   Wikipedia

  • Article 9 ECHR — Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes the freedom to change a religion or belief, and to manifest a religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice… …   Wikipedia

  • Bruno Kreisky — (1980) Bruno Kreisky (* 22. Jänner 1911 in Wien; † 29. Juli 1990 ebenda) war ein österreichischer Politiker (SPÖ) und von 1970 bis 1983 Bundeskanzler der Republik Österreich. Teilweise gleichzeitig mit ihm waren die Sozialdemokraten Willy Brandt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Österreich in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus — war der Zeitraum der Geschichte Österreichs vom 12. März 1938, als Österreich mit dem „Anschluss“ in der Zeit des Nationalsozialismus Teil des Deutschen Reiches wurde, bis zum Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges im Frühjahr 1945. Der einleitende… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wien-Floridsdorf — XXI. Wiener Gemeindebezirk Wappen Karte Name: Floridsdorf Fläche …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Niederlande [2] — Niederlande (Gesch.). Das Land, welches jetzt N. heißt, wurde, so weit die Geschichte reicht, von Germanen bewohnt; wann u. wie aber diese dahin kamen, ist nicht genau zu berichten, wahrscheinlich geschah ihre Einwanderung mit Vertreibung der… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Floridsdorf — 0021XXI. Wiener Gemeindebezirk Wappen Karte …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”