Supreme Court of Georgia

New Decision on the case of Jishkariani v.Georgia by European Court of Human Rights

Published: 09/26/2018

The Human Rights Center of analytical unit of the Supreme Court of Georgia translated the legislative summary of the decision by European Court of Human Rights on the case of Jishkariani v.Georgia from September 20, 2018.

The applicant, Mariam Jishkariani had been accused by a high-ranking official on live television and in a newspaper of issuing medical reports to prisoners in exchange for money. Ms Jishkariani complained that the domestic courts had failed to protect her right to reputation. Relying on Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), the Court could not accept the national courts’ assessment of the defamation case, which had found that the Minister had been voicing his opinion, which was therefore protected by his right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention. The European Court of Human Rights found violation of Article 8 and declared that the national courts therefore had failed to strike a fair balance between the Minister’s right to freedom of expression and the applicant’s right to have her reputation safeguarded