Avenue de l'Europe
TV Vest As and Rogaland Pensjonistparti v. Norway 
| 2008
The Pensioners’ Party was a small political party. It received almost no TV coverage and struggled to make people aware of its message. When it placed adverts on TV Vest, the company was fined for breaching the ban on political advertising on television.
TV Vest and the Pensioner’s Party applied to the European Court of Human Rights.
The European court found that small parties like the Pensioners’ Party received virtually no television coverage in the mainstream news. In such circumstances, the ban on political advertisements put them at a disadvantage compared to the major parties, as they had no way of transmitting their message on TV. In this media environment, the ban on political advertising breached the right to free speech.
The statutes of the national public broadcaster were changed. It is now required to include smaller political parties in its editorial coverage. Furthermore, a new television channel was created, which is dedicated to communicating political messages from a wide range of sources.
Four Belgian journalists were targeted by the police in a huge search and seizure operation aimed at identifying the source of leaked government information. The European court ruled that the operation had been unjustified and disproportionate. The case influenced new legislation to improve protections for journalists and their sources.
Brigitte Heinisch was a geriatric nurse. She claimed that practices in the old people’s home where she worked were putting patients at risk. After she made her allegations public, she was fired. Yet, the German courts found that her dismissal was lawful - so Mrs Heinisch took her case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Her case was then re-opened and she won compensation.
Zoran Lepojić wrote an article saying that a mayor had wasted public money. The mayor successfully brought defamation charges, and Zoran was fined more than eight average monthly salaries. The European court ruled that this had been unreasonable, violating Zoran's right to free speech. The Supreme Court of Serbia took steps to protect freedom of expression in such circumstances.
Norway
Belgium
Germany
Serbia