Information Note on the Court’s case-law 223
November 2018
Sedletska v. Ukraine (communicated case) - 42634/18
Article 10
Article 10-1
Freedom to receive information
Access to journalist’s mobile phone data potentially revealing her sources: communicated
The applicant is a journalist and editor-in-chief of a television programme focusing on corruption amongst, inter alios, high ranking prosecutors and politicians in Ukraine. In August 2018, in the framework of criminal proceedings against a public official, a district court allowed the investigator to access records of the applicant’s mobile phone data from 19 July 2016 to 16 November 2017. On appeal, in September 2018, the decision was quashed. The appellate court nevertheless authorised the investigator temporary access to the data concerning date, time and location of the applicant, in the vicinity of six indicated streets and places in Kyiv during the designated period.
In September 2018 the Court granted the applicant’s request for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, and indicated to the Government that they should ensure that the public authorities abstained from accessing any data mentioned in the ruling of 27 August 2018 concerning the applicant. The interim measure has subsequently been extended until further notice.
The applicant complains under Article 10 of the Convention taken alone and in conjunction with Article 13 about the attempts of Ukrainian authorities to interfere with her right to receive information and ideas by accessing her mobile phone communications, emphasising that such data might enable the authorities to identify her journalistic sources thus putting at risk her journalistic activities. She also argues that the authorisations for collecting the data are disproportionate.
Communicated under Articles 10 and 13 of the Convention.
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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