The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against San Marino in the Ingrid Casali case. As reported by Libertas, the Republic must pay the applicant 5,000 euros for non-pecuniary damages and 19,000 euros for legal costs.
The ruling concerns the violation of two guarantees enshrined in the European Convention: the right to a tribunal established by law and freedom of expression.
The case stems from a comment posted on Facebook in July 2021, in which Casali criticized an award for combating domestic violence given to the then Secretary of State for Health. In her post, she referenced alleged judicial precedents involving the politician, but mistakenly used the wrong gender for the person offended.
After being convicted at first instance and on appeal for offending the honor of a person vested with public authority, Casali had been acquitted at the third level of judgment, with the court recognizing her right to political criticism.
That acquittal was subsequently overturned by the judge for extraordinary remedies, who upheld a querela nullitatis filed by the civil party, thereby reinstating the conviction.
According to the account reported by Libertas, the ECHR found that this judge had exceeded the limits of his jurisdiction. The reversal of the acquittal had also violated Casali’s freedom of expression.
The Court also dismissed the Government’s objection, which had accused the applicant of abusing her right of appeal in connection with her political views.
