The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression contains, in the same way as the Freedom of the Press Act, certain basic principles that govern what public interventions may be made with regard to material protected by the constitutional regulation.
One such principle is the freedom to procure information. It means that everyone is free to procure information on any subject for the purpose of communicating or publishing it in a constitutionally protected medium. This means that the procurement must not lead to criminal liability or obligation to indemnity unless the Constitution supports it.
Other governing principles are the prohibitions against censorship and preventive measures. What is intended to be published or performed in a constitutionally protected medium may not first be scrutinized by an authority or other public body (the prohibition against censorship). Nor is it permissible for an authority or other public body to prohibit or prevent the production, publication or dissemination to the public of an article or other written material, or of programmes or technical recordings on the basis of their content (prohibition against preventive measures).
In its decision, the Supreme Court clarifies that the application of the prohibition against photography in the Code of Judicial Procedure does not conflict with the constitutional freedom to procure information. The reason for this is that the penal provision only concerns the method of procurement, which is not covered by the constitutional protection.
On the other hand, according to the court, the seizure of journalistic material in question was contrary to the prohibition against preventive measures. There was therefore no legal basis for confiscating the memory card.
Case No: B 2927-23
Case name
"TV4's memory card"
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