Freedom of expression in the spotlight? The case of Pablo Hasél Commentary to the Decision of the European Court of Human Rights Rivadulla Duró v. Spain, of 12 October 2023

Abstract

The European Court of Human Rights, sitting in its Fifth Section, has ruled on the application lodged by Mr Pablo Rivadulla Duró against Spain, concerning an alleged violation of his freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, the application also alleges a violation of freedom of thought and of the rights of access to a remedy and limitation on the application of restrictions on rights. The case stems from the applicant’s criminal conviction for the offences of glorifying terrorism and insulting the Crown and the police, committed following the publication of a series of tweets and a rap song.

The Court dismisses the application as manifestly ill-founded. It considers that, whilst the criminal convictions constituted an interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression, they were prescribed by law, pursued a legitimate aim and were proportionate to that aim. Nor does it consider the dismissal of the application for constitutional protection lodged by the applicant before the Constitutional Court, on the grounds of lack of justification of special constitutional significance, to be a violation of his right of access to the remedy. The Court acknowledges that the higher national courts may have stricter formal requirements than those applicable to ordinary appeals.