Bladet Tromso and Stensaas c. Norvège

This case refers to the newspaper’s freedom under Article 10 to publish environmental information, regarding the consequences of seal hunting, of local, national and international interest. The Court held that there had been a violation of the Article 10 (freedom of expression). The Court determined that public awareness and the possibility of an informed public debate resulting from the news story took priority over the protection of the reputation of the crew members who had skinned the seals, finding a violation of the Article 10. The Court’s decision embraces an important aspect of human rights and the environment: the right to public information to keep the public aware of when its government engages in environmentally harmful activities, such as skinning seals alive. Such awareness should trigger public demand for better enforcement of existing environmental laws, such as Norwegian seal hunting regulations in the instant case. Thus, a robust right to freedom of expression can lead to greater public information, which, in turn, can foster enhanced protection of biodiversity. In May 1999, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights found that Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries had violated the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights when it tried to withhold from the Norwegian public a story about government employees skinning seals alive. An employee of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries had inspected a Norwegian government vessel, discovered that crew members had skinned seals alive in violation of Norwegian seal hunting regulations and reported the matter to the Ministry of Fisheries office. When the Ministry of Fisheries office decided not to inform the Norwegian public of the incident, the employee provided the story to the Norwegian press. Shortly thereafter, the crew members sued the Norwegian press for defamation and won. The Norwegian press brought the matter to the European Court.