Case Summary and Outcome

In this landmark case, the European Court of Human Rights found that a request for disclosure of a confidential source in a journalistic context was an impermissible violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The applicant was a trainee journalist who received sensitive information regarding the financial state of a company which appeared to come from a confidential corporate plan, one copy of which had gone missing. The Court found that injunctions to prevent the publication of the information could be considered “necessary in a democratic society” but disclosure of the source of said information was unnecessary. The Court noted the importance of protecting journalistic sources for press freedom and reasoned that disclosure would produce a chilling effect in society, unless disclosure is justified by public interest. 

Facts

The applicant was a trainee journalist with The Engineer magazine, who received confidential information regarding the financial state of a company, Tetra Ltd. The source provided the information through telephone, and wished to remain anonymous. The information was unsolicited and was not given in exchange for any payment. It was provided on an unattributable basis. The information itself appeared to come from a confidential corporate plan, one copy of which had gone missing.

On 22 November 1989, Mr. Justice Hoffmann ordered the applicant to disclose by 3 p.m. on 23 November his notes on the grounds that it was necessary “in the interests of justice,” within the meaning of section 10 of the 1981 Act, for the source’s identity to be disclosed in order to enable Tetra to bring proceedings against the source to recover the document, obtain an injunction preventing further publication or seek damages for the expenses to which it had been put. (Para 15)

The applicant appealed unsuccessfully to the Court of Appeal and House of Lords. He refused to disclose his source and was fined £5,000 for contempt. He complained of a violation of Article 10 of the Convention. (Para 19)

Decision Overview

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”) in its judgment found that, because the publication of the confidential information was already prohibited by injunction, the order for disclosure of the source was not “necessary in a democratic society” as required by Article 10 European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”). Accordingly, the order breached Article 10 ECHR. (Para 37)

The company’s legitimate reasons for wishing disclosure, namely to prevent further dissemination of the confidential information (other than by publication) and to take action against the source who was presumed to be an employee, were outweighed by the interest of a free press in a democratic society (para 38). If journalists are forced to reveal their sources the role of the press as public watchdog could be seriously undermined because of the chilling effect that such disclosure would have on the free flow of information (para 39).