It is possible to close criminal cases related to national security and state secrets from the public and the media only in case of emergency, while there cannot be a law on the complete absence of public access to certain types of cases. This was stated by the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Robert Spano, answering a question from Novaya Gazeta.
“Article 6.1 of the Convention on Human Rights makes it clear that when covering criminal cases, there is a general principle of public hearings. Thus, restrictions for the public, including journalists, to attend public hearings in courtrooms should be an exception,” Spano stressed. webp» class=»SingleImage_image__3qIDn» alt=»» />
Screenshot: broadcast of the ECHR press conference
As the President of the ECtHR stated, the court ruled that exceptions to the general rule are possible: these are, in particular, cases of national security, as well as cases of sexual violence, about rape. In the latter case, this is necessary in order to try to alleviate the possible suffering of the victims. The idea is not to protect the accused, but to protect the victim and potential family members, Spano said.
“But in cases of national security or cases concerning state secrets, the court has made it clear that
such an exception can only occur in case of emergency, this is an assessment of proportionality.
Secondly, this can only happen in individual cases. You cannot have a law on the complete absence of access for citizens and the media to certain types of cases. And thirdly, the jurisprudence makes it clear that the court itself must justify its decision, the court must explain when it is possible to exclude the public from hearings,” the President of the ECHR emphasized.
Screen: broadcast of ECtHR press conference
Torture
Responding to another question from Novaya Gazeta, whether complaints of torture should not be prioritized, since in this case the complainants are in constant danger, Spano said that allegations of torture in accordance with the ECtHR's priority policy are the number one issue.
“The second part of the question is a bit more complicated, because you are asking who can file a lawsuit with our court and complain about the use of torture. The general principle is that we require the victim to directly file such complaints.
But we have a jurisprudence that allows complaints to be filed by what we call «indirect victims». For example, if a person died or went missing,” added the President of the ECHR.
As Spano noted, the ECHR agreed that relatives of the missing or those who are no longer alive can sue of such kind. “But even if a person is not dead, we do not rule out that there are moral interests, even compelling interests in specific cases, that could open the way for other indirect victims to bring claims under Article 3 (“No one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment»). This is a narrow assumption, but it is not excluded,” concluded Spano.