CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 6 novembre 2003

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .s5FFF0A77 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:1pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s94935B0F { width:389.85pt; display:inline-block } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s76CF415B { page-break-before:always; clear:both } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s61E420C2 { font-family:Arial; font-variant:small-caps } .s69BE285C { margin-top:0pt; margin-left:85.05pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:-85.05pt } .s18D96D33 { width:15.69pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .sBF401EEE { width:32.35pt; text-indent:0pt; display:inline-block } .s9F8EB0C0 { width:18.63pt; display:inline-block } .s9E97F54A { width:85.05pt; display:inline-block } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .s3C4DB099 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:10pt } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left }   EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS     549   6.11.2003   Press release issued by the Registrar   CHAMBER HEARING ON THE MERITS   IN THE CASE OF VON HANNOVER v. GERMANY   Thursday 6 November at 9.30 a.m.   The applicant   The case concerns an application (no. 59320/00) brought by HRH Princess Caroline von Hannover, who is the eldest daughter of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, was born in 1957 and is a national of Monaco, where she lives.   Summary of the facts   Since the beginning of the 1990s Princess Caroline von Hannover has been campaigning – often through the courts – in various European countries to prevent the publication of photographs about her private life in the tabloid press.   She has on several occasions unsuccessfully applied to the German courts for an injunction preventing any further publication of a series of photographs that had appeared in the 1990s in the German magazines Bunte , Freizeit Revue and Neue Post , which she alleged infringed her right to respect for her private life and her right to control the use of her image.   In a landmark judgment of 15 December 1999 the Federal Constitutional Court granted the applicant an injunction regarding the photographs in which she appeared with her children, on the ground that their need for protection of their privacy was greater than that of adults.   However, the Constitutional Court found that the applicant, who was indisputably a contemporary “public figure”, had to tolerate the publication of photographs showing her in public, even if the scenes photographed were of her daily life rather than official engagements. It referred in that connection to the freedom of the press and to the public’s legitimate interest in knowing how such a person generally behaved in public.   Complaints   The applicant complains, under Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, that the decisions of the German courts infringed her right to respect for her private life. She maintains that the courts failed to protect her adequately from the publication of photographs taken without her knowledge by paparazzi on the ground that, given her origins, she was indisputably a contemporary “public figure”. She also complains of an infringement of her right to respect for her family life.       Procedure   The application was lodged on 6 June 2000 and declared admissible on 8 July 2003.   On 16 and 26 September 2003 respectively the President of the Chamber granted the Verband Deutscher Zeitschriftenverleger association and the Hubert Burda Media Holding GmbH & Co.KG   company leave to submit written comments as third parties under Rule 61 § 3 of the Rules of Court.   Composition of the Court   The case will be heard by a Chamber composed as follows:   Ireneu Cabral Barreto (Portuguese), President , Georg Ress (German), Pranas Kūris (Lithuanian), Boštjan Zupančič (Slovenian), John Hedigan (Irish), Margarita Tsatsa-Nikolovska (Macedonian), Kristaq Traja (Albanian), judges , Lucius Caflisch (Swiss) [1] , Riza Türmen (Turkish) , Hanne Sophie Greve (Norwegian) , Alvina Gyulumyan (Armenian) , substitute judges , and also Vincent Berger , Section Registrar .   Representatives of the parties   Government:   Klaus Stoltenberg , Agent , Ansgar Ohly , Counsel , Angelika Laitenberger , Adviser ;   Applicant:   Matthias Prinz , Counsel , Claudia Moffat , Alain Toucas , Advisers .   After the hearing the Court will begin its deliberations, which are held in private. Judgment will be delivered at a later date.   Registry of the European Court of Human Rights F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex Press contacts:   Roderick Liddell (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 24 92)   Emma Hellyer (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15)   Stéphanie Klein (telephone: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Fax: +00 33 (0)3 88 41 27 91   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Since 1 November 1998 it has sat as a full-time Court composed of an equal number of judges to that of the States party to the Convention. The Court examines the admissibility and merits of applications submitted to it. It sits in Chambers of 7 judges or, in exceptional cases, as a Grand Chamber of 17 judges. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of the Court’s judgments. More detailed information about the Court and its activities can be found on its Internet site.   1.     Elected as the judge in respect of Liechtenstein.