European Court of Human Rights : Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v. Hungary

On 8 November 2016, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered a landmark judgment on the right of access to public documents. It found that the Hungarian authorities’ refusal to provide the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Magyar Helsinki Bizottság (MHB), with information relating to the work of ex officio defence counsels was in breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees the right to freedom of expression. The Court noted that the information requested from the police by MHB was necessary for it to complete the study on the functioning of the public defenders’ system MHB was conducting in its capacity as a non-governmental human-rights organisation, with a view to contributing to discussion on an issue of obvious public interest. In the Court’s view, by denying MHB access to the requested information the Hungarian authorities had impaired the NGO’s exercise of its freedom to receive and impart information, in a manner striking at the very substance of its Article 10 rights. The Grand Chamber’s judgment is a victory for journalists, bloggers, academics, and NGOs, who rely on access to public documents in order to conduct investigations as part of their role as “public watchdogs”