cartoons

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52. The Court recalls that freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society. As paragraph 2 of Article 10 (art. 10-2) expressly recognises, however, the exercise of that freedom carries with it duties and responsibilities. Amongst them, in the context of religious beliefs, may legitimately be included a duty to avoid as far as possible an expression that is, in regard to objects of veneration, gratuitously offensive to others and profanatory(see the Otto-Preminger-Institut judgment cited above at paragraph 46, pp. 18-19, paras. 47 and 49).

53. No restriction on freedom of expression, whether in the context of religious beliefs or in any other, can be compatible with Article 10 (art. 10) unless it satisfies, inter alia, the test of necessity as required by the second paragraph of that Article (art. 10-2). In examining whether restrictions to the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention can be considered "necessary in a democratic society" the Court has, however, consistently held that the Contracting States enjoy a certain but not unlimited margin of appreciation. It is, in any event, for the European Court to give a final ruling on the restriction's compatibility with the Convention and it will do so by assessing in the circumstances of a particular case, inter alia, whether the interference corresponded to a "pressing social need" and whether it was "proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued" (see, mutatis mutandis, among many other authorities, the Goodwin judgment cited above at paragraph 40, pp. 500-01, para. 40).
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57. The Court observes that the refusal to grant Visions of Ecstasy a distribution certificate was intended to protect "the rights of others", and more specifically to provide protection against seriously offensive attacks on matters regarded as sacred by Christians (see paragraph 48 above).
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In
Decisao do Tribunal Europeu dos Direitos Humanos, num apelo do realizador do filme "Visions of Ecstasy" (caso Wingrove v. the United Kingdom), proibido em Inglaterra por blasfemia, em 1989.
ler tudo


E do julgamento do Otto-Preminger-Institut vs Austria
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The Court cannot disregard the fact that the Roman Catholic religion is the religion of the overwhelming majority of Tyroleans. In seizing the film, the Austrian authorities acted to ensure religious peace in that region and to prevent that some people should feel the object of attacks on their religious beliefs in an unwarranted and offensive manner. It is in the first place for the national authorities, who are better placed than the international judge, to assess the need for such a measure in the light of the situation obtaining locally at a given time. In all the circumstances of the present case, the Court does not consider that the Austrian authorities can be regarded as having overstepped their margin of appreciation in this respect.
ler tudo

... ainda outro caso em que o Tribunal Europeu nao deu razao ao estado Frances (sim, leram bem, Frances) contra um jornalista, sociologo, historiador que publicou um artigo num jornal sobre a Igreja Catolica.
para quem ainda tiver paciencia