CEDH · PRESS;HEARINGS;ENG — 18 décembre 1998

.s3ABFC313 { font-size:10pt } .s598389F9 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:12pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s23A41E03 { width:36pt; display:inline-block } .s9E7DF94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:12pt } .s85646119 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .s42A0AEC7 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s4ACA9207 { page-break-before:always; clear:both; mso-break-type:section-break } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .s9F2A5D62 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:36pt; text-align:justify; font-size:12pt } .sB9D5CABB { width:28.35pt; display:inline-block } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   Press release issued by the Registrar                     753 18.11.1998     HEARING IN THE CASE OF JANOWSKI v. POLAND   18 November 1998 at 9.30 a.m.   The applicant     The case concerns an application brought by a Polish national, Mr Józef Janowski, who was born in 1937. He is a journalist and lives in Zduńska Wola, Poland.   Summary of the facts     According to the applicant’s version of events, on 2 September 1992 he noticed two municipal guards ordering street vendors to leave a square in Zduńska Wola. The vendors were told to move their stands to a nearby marketplace and were fined. The applicant intervened and remonstrated with the guards.     On 29 April 1993 the Zduńska Wola District Court convicted the applicant of insulting the municipal guards. He was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment suspended for two years and fined 1,500,000 old zlotys. The applicant was also ordered to pay 400,000 old zlotys to charitable institutions and court costs of 346,000 old zlotys. He appealed against this judgment. On 29 September 1993 the Sieradz Regional Court quashed the part of the judgment imposing a prison sentence and the order to pay 400,000 old zlotys to charitable institutions. The Regional Court upheld the fine of 1,500,000 old zlotys but reduced the court costs to 150,000 old zlotys. It considered that although the judgment of the trial court did not mention the abusive words used by the applicant, there was nevertheless sufficient evidence in the case file to conclude that the applicant had in fact insulted the guards by calling them “oafs” and “dumb” ( ćwoki and głupki ).   Complaints     The applicant complains that his conviction infringed his right to freedom of expression guaranteed under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. He also alleges that the facts of the case disclose violations of Articles 3, 6 and 7   §   1 of the Convention. Procedure     The application was lodged with the European Commission of Human Rights on 25 January 1994. Having found the application partly admissible the Commission adopted a report on 3 December 1997 in which it expressed the opinion that there had been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention (8 votes to 7). It referred the case to the former Court on 26 February 1998. The Polish Government and the applicant also brought the case before the Court.   Composition of the Court     Under the transitional provisions of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention the case was transmitted to the Grand Chamber of the new European Court of Human Rights on the entry into force of the Protocol on 1 November 1998. It will be heard by the Grand Chamber composed as follows:   Luzius Wildhaber (Swiss, President ), Elizabeth Palm (Swedish, Vice-President ), Christos Rozakis (Greek, Vice-President ) , Nicolas Bratza (British), Matti Pellonpää (Finnish), Benedetto Conforti (Italian), Antonio Pastor Ridruejo (Spanish), Giovanni Bonello (Maltese), Jerzy Makarczyk (Polish), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Riza Türmen (Turkish), Corneliu Bîrsan (Romanian), Marc Fischbach (Luxemburger), Josep Casadevall (Andorran), Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian), András Baka (Hungarian), Rait Maruste (Estonian), Judges , Volodymyr Butkevych (Ukrainian), Snejana Botoucharova (Bulgarian), Substitute Judges ,   and also Mr Michele de Salvia , Registrar , and Mr Paul Mahoney , Deputy Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government: Mr Krzysztof Drzewicki , Agent, Ms Ewa Chałubińska, Mr Andrzej Kaliński , Mr Mirosław Łuczka and Ms Magdalena Dębska .   Applicant: Mrs Bożenna Banasik , Counsel.     The European Commission of Human Rights will be represented by Mr Marek Nowicki assisted by Mrs Marie-Thérèse Schoepfer . After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.     Subject to his duty of discretion, the Registrar is responsible under the Rules of Court for replying to requests for information concerning the work of the Court, and in particular to enquiries from the press.     Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Contact: Mr Roderick LIDDELL Telephone: (0)3 88 41 24 92; fax: (0)3 88 41 27 91