New EIN Project: Protecting Freedom of Expression by Supporting ECtHR Implementation

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This week, EIN is launching a new project which aims to protect free speech in Europe in every country where there is a relevant ECtHR judgment pending implementation. It will do so by empowering civil society to engage with the implementation process of these judgments, by providing them with training, resources, and mentoring.

Violations of the right to free speech are central to the crisis of democratic backsliding in European states. The healthy functioning of democracies is being curtailed (and sometimes undermined) by a mixture of: draconian defamation laws that silence journalists through court proceedings; the undermining of free debate through the excessive ownership of media outlets by the state or those linked to it; and even widespread violence against reporters.

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The European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) has issued 330 leading judgments finding a violation of the right to free speech. These judgments concern the most critical free speech issues in Europe today, including defamation laws, media ownership, and journalists’ safety.

However, at the time of writing, 50% of the leading free speech judgments handed down by the ECtHR in the last 10 years are still pending implementation. There are currently 105 leading ECtHR judgments on free speech pending implementation overall.  

EIN will promote free speech reforms across Europe by giving civil society the training, resources, and mentoring they need to push forward the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

The project is set to run for 2 years (June 2023 - May 2025). Project activities would include:

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  • Reaching out to NGOs, lawyers, and journalists specialising in media freedom in all countries where there are relevant ECtHR cases pending implementation, and ensuring that as many cases as possible are being monitored or engaged with by a local partner;

  • Inviting the target group to a capacity-building conference, to be provided with extensive training and resources about how to promote ECtHR judgment implementation in their country;

  • The creation of a research note on best practices, to be circulated to all relevant stakeholders;

  • Ongoing mentoring for partners through legal advice, liaison with the Council of Europe, assistance with drafting written submissions to the Council of Europe’s implementation monitoring process, and advice on advocacy best practices at national level to promote ECtHR implementation;

  • In the second year of the project, a second conference to share lessons-learnt and best practices among stakeholders;

  • Briefings on cases concerning freedom of expression or media freedom to delegates of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe;

  • Reporting on the overall state of implementation of ECtHR judgments concerning free speech, to be distributed to all relevant partners and institutions throughout Europe.

The project will be kindly funded by the Swedish Postcode lottery, Fritt Ord Foundation and the Isocrates Foundation.