The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human rights held Romania responsible for having failed in its obligations to protect an individual’s right to privacy when it didn't strike a fair balance between the applicant employee's rights and the rights of his employer.
The U.K. Administrative Appeals Chamber held that information concerning detention and interrogation policies is of significant public interest and should be disclosed; the public interest in access to diplomatic assurances that detainees would not be tortured outweighs any harm that might flow from disclosure; information concerning the Special Forces and legally privileged communications are exempt; and the personal data exemption is not implicated in a request for non-identifying statistical details.
The U.K. Information Appeal Tribunal held that disclosure of information relating to arms trade between the U.K. and Saudi Arabia could cause real and substantial prejudice to U.K. international relations, the harm of which outweighs any public interest in favor of disclosure.
The Supreme Court of the United States found a law in North Carolina to be in violation of the First Amendment because it made it a felony for a registered sex offender "to access a commercial social networking Web site where the sex offender knows that the site permits minor children to become members or to create or maintain personal Web pages."
The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil approved cuts to the salaries of civil servants for the days they were on strike. The civil servants worked at the Foundation for the Support of Technical Schools (FAETEC), a public institution tied to the Rio de Janeiro State Department of Science and Technology. The civil servants filed an application for a court injunction against FAETEC to refrain from applying the cuts to their wages. The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil upheld the deductions and reasoned that cuts on salaries were justified due, in part, to the nature of the role performed by civil servants whose duties are often essential to the functioning of society.
The Supreme Court of Chile found that the use of video surveillance balloons over two municipalities to be compatible with the constitution, and allowed their continued use, provided they do not record private spaces without authorization
Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to contribute to the development of an integrated and progressive jurisprudence
and to advance understanding of the norms and institutions that best protect the free flow of information and expression.
