Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What price privacy?

The European Court of Human Rights' latest judgment in an Article 8 vs. Article 10 case raises an interesting question: what price privacy? Local courts awarded just under €3000 for an admittedly pretty egregious attack on privacy; the European Court said 'not enough' and found a violation of the applicant's right to private life. The judgment makes interesting reading and raises several questions - not just what is the appropriate price for a breach of medical privacy, but also whether a true statement of fact can be defamatory (something which Zagrebelsky, dissenting, seems to think but which the Court omits to discus). Even more interesting is that Popovic and Tsotsoria concur in the substance of the finding, but then dissent from the damages awarded by the European Court - €6500 - on the ground that this is too high.

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