How to complain when you believe that your freedom of expression has been unlawfully restricted?
Any measures or sanctions that restrict your freedom of expression must only be taken if they are:
- provided in law
- necessary to achieve a legitimate aim: the protection of reputation, honour or the dignity of others
- proportional
If the court, law enforcement or other institution has issued restrictions on your freedom of expression which are not based on one of the criteria mentioned above, you can challenge such restriction to higher instance court.
Civil proceedings
The unlawful restriction of your freedom of expression may also be related to a court’s mistake in applying the law. For example, in restricting your freedom of expression, the court may fail to differentiate between facts and opinions or assess the public interest in the information you have made public. In such cases, you may appeal the decision of the court of first instance to a higher court. If the higher court dismisses your appeal, you may submit a complaint to the Supreme Court, the decision of which is final.
If your complaint has been dismissed by the Supreme Court, you may submit a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
Criminal proceedings
If a criminal sanction was applied in your case, you can challenge the lawfulness of the sanction to the higher instance court. If the higher instance court dismisses your appeal, you may submit a complaint to the Supreme Court, the decision of which is final. If your complaint has been dismissed by the Supreme Court, you may submit a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
If the higher instance court or the Supreme Court rules your complaint to be justified and revokes the sanction as unlawful, in some cases you may have a right to file a civil claim for compensation of damages inflicted by unlawful actions of state officials or authorities.