Avenue de l'Europe
Heinisch v. Germany 
| 2011
I finally had no other choice than to report my employer.
‘Interview with Brigitte Heinisch’, published by A Change of Direction, 9 February 2017 - © Photo: ansTageslicht.de
Brigitte Heinisch, a nurse in an old people’s home, blew the whistle on alleged staff shortages and low standards. She said that the situation was putting patients at risk and being covered up by her employer.
Brigitte was then fired. She challenged this in court, claiming that it had been unlawful to dismiss her for whistleblowing. The German courts rejected her claim, ruling that the sacking was lawful.
Brigitte's whistleblowing had concerned an issue of significant public interest. Her dismissal could have had a serious chilling effect on others reporting shortcomings in institutional care. By upholding her dismissal, the German authorities had failed to protect her right to report wrongdoing in her place of work, which was also of great importance to society at large. This had violated her right to free speech.
The German government said that the case resulted from a mistaken application of the law in a single case, rather than a shortcoming in legal protections for whistleblowers in general.
As a result of the European court's judgment, Brigitte's employment dispute was reopened in the national courts. Her former employer agreed to pay her €90,000 in compensation.
Zoran Šabanović was given a suspended prison sentence for defamation over claims he made related to water contamination. The European court found that Zoran’s conviction breached his right to free speech. Montenegro then decriminalised defamation and Zoran was acquitted after a re-trial.
David Norris suffered from anxiety attacks and depression after realising that any open expression of his homosexuality could lead to a criminal prosecution. The European court ruled that the criminalisation of his sexuality breached his basic rights. In 1993, this led to the full legalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults under Irish law.
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.
Germany
Montenegro
Ireland
Belgium