{"id":16785,"date":"2021-09-28T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T09:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785"},"modified":"2021-09-28T09:00:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T09:00:33","slug":"case-of-novaya-gazeta-and-others-v-russia-european-court-of-human-rights-applications-nos-12996-12-and-35043-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785","title":{"rendered":"CASE OF NOVAYA GAZETA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA (European Court of Human Rights) Applications nos.\u00a012996\/12 and 35043\/13"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This case concerns two sets of civil defamation proceedings instituted against members of the media by commercial companies alleging damage to their business reputation before commercial courts. The applicants considered that the domestic courts\u2019 judgments finding them civilly liable for defamation amounted to a disproportionate interference with the exercise of their right to freedom of expression. The applicant company is a publisher of Novaya Gazeta, a leading Russian newspaper (\u201cthe newspaper\u201d). Mr Polukhin and Mr Nikolayev are professional journalists who at the material time wrote for the newspaper. <a href=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CASE-OF-NOVAYA-GAZETA-AND-OTHERS-v.-RUSSIA.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CASE-OF-NOVAYA-GAZETA-AND-OTHERS-v.-RUSSIA.docx\">WORD<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">THIRD SECTION<br \/>\n<strong>CASE OF NOVAYA GAZETA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>(Applications nos.\u00a012996\/12 and 35043\/13)<\/em><br \/>\nJUDGMENT<br \/>\nSTRASBOURG<br \/>\n28 September 2021<\/p>\n<p>This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the case of Novaya Gazeta and Others v. Russia,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:<\/p>\n<p>Darian Pavli, President,<br \/>\nDmitry Dedov,<br \/>\nPeeter Roosma, judges,<br \/>\nand Olga Chernishova, Deputy Section Registrar,<\/p>\n<p>Having regard to:<\/p>\n<p>the applications (nos.\u00a012996\/12 and 35043\/13) against the Russian Federation lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (\u201cthe Convention\u201d) by three applicants (\u201cthe applicants\u201d), whose details as well as the dates of introduction of each application are indicated in Appendix I below;<\/p>\n<p>the decision to give notice to the Russian Government (\u201cthe Government\u201d) of the complaints concerning the applicants\u2019 right to freedom of expression;<\/p>\n<p>the parties\u2019 observations;<\/p>\n<p>the decision to reject the Government\u2019s objection to examination of the applications by a Committee;<\/p>\n<p>Having deliberated in private on 7 September 2021,<\/p>\n<p>Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17106\" src=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/INTRODUCTION.jpg\" alt=\"INTRODUCTION\" width=\"111\" height=\"17\" \/><\/p>\n<p>1. This case concerns two sets of civil defamation proceedings instituted against members of the media by commercial companies alleging damage to their business reputation before commercial courts. The applicants considered that the domestic courts\u2019 judgments finding them civilly liable for defamation amounted to a disproportionate interference with the exercise of their right to freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE FACTS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>2. The applicant company is a publisher of Novaya Gazeta, a leading Russian newspaper (\u201cthe newspaper\u201d). Mr\u00a0Polukhin and Mr\u00a0Nikolayev are professional journalists who at the material time wrote for the newspaper. The applicants were represented by Mr\u00a0Ya.\u00a0Kozheurov, a lawyer practising in Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>3. The Government were represented by Mr M. Galperin, Representative of the Russian Federation to the European Court of Human Rights, and lately by Mr M. Vinogradov, his successor in that office.<\/p>\n<p><strong>I. Application no.\u00a012996\/12<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>4. In November 2009 and March 2010 the newspaper published two articles by Mr\u00a0Polukhin and Mr\u00a0Nikolayev, respectively. The articles concerned the Clear Water Programme that promoted water filters based on a supposedly innovative technology that had not been supported by scientific consensus. The filters, known as \u201cPetrik\u2019s filter\u201d after the name of their creator, attracted criticism on the part of expert community and considerable public attention. The articles by Mr\u00a0Polukhin and Mr\u00a0Nikolayev alleged that the then Speaker of the Russian State Duma had promoted the interests of the producer of the filters lobbying for installation of the filters in public schools and hospitals. The article by Mr Polukhin contained open questions as to why documented outbreaks of meningitis had happened in schools equipped with \u201cPetrik\u2019s filter\u201d. The articles contained quotes from an article published in a third\u2011party science magazine in 2009. The subject matter of the articles pertained to issues of public health and safety and allocation of State funds. The articles did not contain offensive or abusive language and were socially acceptable in terms of contents and form.<\/p>\n<p>5. OOO\u00a0Holding Zolotaya Formula, a limited liability company that produced the filters, brought civil proceedings for defamation in respect of five articles published in three different media outlets, including the newspaper, in which the efficacy of the filters had been questioned. The claims were lodged with the Commercial Court of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region (\u201cthe St Petersburg Court\u201d) under Article\u00a0152 of the Russian Civil Code against eight defendants: the applicant company, two other media outlets that had published materials critical of the \u201cPetrik\u2019s filter\u201d and five people, including Mr\u00a0Polukhin and Mr\u00a0Nikolayev. The claimant company alleged that the defendants had disseminated statements that had tarnished their business reputation and claimed the total of 21,162,700\u00a0Russian roubles (RUB) in compensation.<\/p>\n<p>6. The eight defendants objected, in particular, that some of the statements had represented value judgments not susceptible of proof. The applicant company invoked the provision of the Russian Media Act exempting a publisher or journalist from liability under Article 152 of the Civil Code for quoting a material already published by another media outlet.<\/p>\n<p>7. On 29\u00a0December 2010 the St Petersburg Court found established the fact of dissemination by the defendants of the statements to the effect that the filters produced by the claimant company had not been safe to use, as well as the tarnishing nature of such statements. It further proclaimed the impugned statements, including those in the form of a question, to be \u201cimplicit or explicit\u201d statements of fact that had not been proven to be true. The applicant company\u2019s reference to the source material from which the articles had borrowed was dismissed on the grounds that the defendants had failed to prove the truthfulness of the information contained in the source material. The St\u00a0Petersburg Court thus found for the claimant company and granted its claims in part. Basing itself on \u201can expert report on the prognosis of the income that the claimant had not received\u201d, it awarded, in particular, RUB\u00a0200,000 in respect of non\u2011pecuniary damage and RUB\u00a04,000 in respect of court fees to be paid by the applicant company. The St Petersburg Court also ordered a retraction of all impugned publications, including the two articles published in the newspaper,<\/p>\n<p>8. On 21\u00a0April 2011 the Thirteenth Appellate Commercial Court upheld, in substance, the judgment of 23\u00a0October 2010 on appeal. The appellate court modified the judgment to the effect that the applicant company be ordered to publish the judgment of 29\u00a0October 2010 on its website, not a retraction.<\/p>\n<p>9. On 23 May 2011 the applicant company transferred RUB\u00a0204,000 to the bailiffs\u2019 service\u2019s account in execution of the judgment of 29 December 2010.<\/p>\n<p>10. On 10\u00a0August 2011 the Federal Commercial Court of the North\u2011Western Circuit dismissed the applicants\u2019 cassation appeal.<\/p>\n<p>11. On 5\u00a0December 2011 the Supreme Commercial Court of the Russian Federation dismissed the applicants\u2019 application for supervisory review of the lower courts\u2019 judgments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>II. application no.\u00a035043\/13<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>12. In 2006 Gazprom, a multinational energy corporation, the majority of stocks of which are State\u2011owned, commissioned the construction of its headquarters in St\u00a0Petersburg on the basis of the project known as \u201cGazprom City\u201d or \u201cOkhta Centre\u201d, that was supposed to include the tallest skyscraper in Europe. Its construction was co\u2011funded by the city of St\u00a0Petersburg. The project attracted considerable criticism domestically and internationally, and concerns were expressed that its realisation would be damaging to the city\u2019s historic skyline, and was eventually abandoned.<\/p>\n<p>13. On 12 February 2010 the newspaper published an article entitled \u201cHow I built a gas\u2011scraper\u201d containing a first\u2011person narrative by Mr\u00a0K., a former employee of ZAO Soletanshstroy, a subcontractor involved in the construction of Okhta Centre. The newspaper\u2019s editors only added notes explaining certain technical terms that Mr\u00a0K. used. According to Mr\u00a0K., numerous breaches of rules and regulations had taken place in the course of that stage of the works. The article included a commentary by a representative of ZAO Soletanshstroy.<\/p>\n<p>14. ZAO Soletanshstroy\u00a0brought before the Commercial Court of Moscow (\u201cthe Moscow Court\u201d) civil proceedings for defamation under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code against the applicant company and Mr\u00a0K. alleging that the article had tarnished their business reputation. In the course of the proceedings, the applicant company pleaded that it bore no liability for the statements by the third person. Mr\u00a0K. submitted evidence in support of his factual assertions and witness statements by two other employees of the claimant.<\/p>\n<p>15. On 22 March 2011 the Moscow Court found for the claimant company for the reason that the impugned statements had been disseminated, that they had been tarnishing to the claimant company\u2019s business reputation, and that they had been untruthful. It ordered a retraction and awarded, in particular, RUB 50,000 in compensation of non\u2011pecuniary damage and RUB 49,000 in court and legal fees to be paid by the applicant company.<\/p>\n<p>16. On 28 July 2011 the Ninth Appellate Commercial Court upheld the Moscow Court\u2019s judgment on appeal.<\/p>\n<p>17. On 19 October 2011 the applicant company transferred RUB\u00a099,000 to the bailiffs\u2019 service\u2019s account in execution of the judgment of 22 March 2011.<\/p>\n<p>18. On 23 November 2011 the Federal Commercial Court of the Moscow Circuit upheld the judgment on cassation appeal.<\/p>\n<p>19. The Supreme Commercial Court of Russia dismissed the applicant company\u2019s request for supervisory review on 23 May 2012.<\/p>\n<p>RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK<\/p>\n<p>20. The relevant provisions of the domestic law applicable at the material time and practice have been summarised in OOO Regnum v. Russia (no.\u00a022649\/08, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a035\u201139, 8 September 2020).<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I. JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS<\/p>\n<p>21. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.<\/p>\n<p>II. ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 10 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>22. The applicants complained that the relevant judgments of the domestic courts in the defamation proceedings against them violated their right to freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the Convention, which reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p>\u201c1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Admissibility<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>23. As regards application no. 12996\/12, the Government submitted that Mr\u00a0Polukhin and Mr Nikolayev could not claim to be \u201cvictims\u201d of the violation alleged because the commercial courts had imposed no penalties on them. The Court notes that it has previously dismissed similar objections on the grounds that the fact that no award of damages was issued against the applicant cannot be decisive for his status as a \u201cvictim\u201d of the alleged violation where he had been a co-defendant in the relevant proceedings (see a\/s Diena and Ozoli\u0146\u0161 v. Latvia, no. 16657\/03, \u00a7\u00a7 57-60, 12\u00a0July 2007, and Godlevskiy v. Russia, no. 14888\/03, \u00a7\u00a7 34-37, 23 October 2008).\u00a0The Court thus dismisses the Government\u2019s objection concerning incompatibility ratione personae.<\/p>\n<p>24. The Court further notes that the applications are neither manifestly ill\u2011founded nor inadmissible on any other grounds listed in Article\u00a035 of the Convention. They must therefore be declared admissible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. Merits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>1. The parties\u2019 submissions<\/em><\/p>\n<p>25. The applicants maintained their complaints insisting that the domestic commercial courts had not applied the relevant standards established in the Court\u2019s case-law.<\/p>\n<p>26. The Government argued that the instances of the interference with the applicants\u2019 right to freedom of expression had been \u201cprescribed by law\u201d, had pursued a legitimate aim of protecting the reputation of others, and had been \u201cnecessary in a democratic society\u201d. They emphasised that, under Article 152 of the Russian Civil Code, three elements are relevant in the assessment whether a statement tarnished one\u2019s dignity, honour and business reputation: the tarnishing nature of the statements; the fact of their dissemination; and their untruthfulness.<\/p>\n<p><em>2. The Court\u2019s assessment<\/em><\/p>\n<p>27. The Court will examine this case in the light of the general principles of its settled case-law on balancing\u00a0the right to freedom of expression against the right to reputation that were summarised in OOO Regnum (cited\u00a0above, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a058-63).<\/p>\n<p>28. The Court emphasises that the claimants in both sets of proceedings at hand were private commercial companies. Accordingly, the following criteria are relevant in the assessment of the necessity of the instances of interference complained of both by domestic courts and the Court itself: the subject matter of the impugned publications, that is, whether they concerned a matter of public interest; the content, form and consequences of the publications; the way in which the information was obtained and its veracity; and the gravity of the penalty imposed on the media outlet or journalists (ibid., \u00a7\u00a067).<\/p>\n<p>29. The Court is satisfied that the articles published in the newspaper concerning OOO\u00a0Holding Zolotaya Formula and ZAO Soletanshstroy had touched upon matters of public interest, such as public health and allocation of public funds. The content and form of the impugned publications were socially appropriate.<\/p>\n<p>30. The Court reiterates that protection of the right of journalists to impart information on issues of general interest requires that they should act in good faith and on an accurate factual basis and provide \u201creliable and precise\u201d information in accordance with the ethics of journalism. This obligation required that they should have relied on a sufficiently accurate and reliable factual basis which could be considered proportionate to the nature and degree of their allegation, given that the more serious the allegation, the more solid the factual basis has to be (see Pedersen and\u00a0Baadsgaard v. Denmark [GC], no. 49017\/99, \u00a7 78, ECHR 2004\u2011XI). The Court has no reasons to doubt that the information related in all three articles was obtained in compliance with the tenets of responsible journalism. Notably, the articles concerning OOO Holding Zolotaya Formula contained references to the source material published in 2009 regarding documented outbreaks of meningitis in schools equipped with \u201cPetrik\u2019s filters\u201d (see paragraph 4 above). The Court is thus satisfied that these articles had had sufficient factual basis. The article concerning ZAO\u00a0Soletanshstroy reproduced verbatim an interview given by a third party, a builder immediately involved in the construction of the skyscraper who had named in the domestic proceedings two persons willing to corroborate his account of the events (see paragraph 14 above). However, the commercial courts examining the defamation claims stemming from the three articles summarily dismissed the defendants\u2019 reference to the fact that the statements had clearly been identified as someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>31. The Court reiterates that an indiscriminate approach to the author\u2019s own speech and statements made by others is incompatible with the standards elaborated in the Court\u2019s case-law under Article 10 of the Convention. In a number of cases the Court has held that\u00a0a distinction needs to be made according to whether the statements emanate from the journalist or are a quotation of others, since punishment of a journalist for assisting in the dissemination of statements made by another person in an interview would seriously hamper the contribution of the press to discussion of matters of public interest and should not be envisaged unless there are particularly strong reasons for doing so. The domestic courts did not advance any such reasons (see, with further references,\u00a0Godlevskiy v.\u00a0Russia, no.\u00a014888\/03, \u00a7 45, 23 October 2008; and Pedersen and Baadsgaard, cited above, \u00a7 77). A general requirement for journalists systematically and formally to distance themselves from the content of a quotation that might insult or provoke others or damage their reputation is not reconcilable with the press\u2019s role of providing information on current events, opinions and ideas (see\u00a0Thoma v.\u00a0Luxembourg, no.\u00a038432\/97, \u00a7 64, ECHR 2001\u2011III, and Nadtoka v. Russia (no.\u00a02), no.\u00a029097\/08, \u00a7\u00a048, 8\u00a0October 2019). The commercial courts limited themselves to\u00a0establishing the fact that statements that they regarded as tarnishing the business reputation of the claimants had been disseminated and to observing that the defendants had not proved the truthfulness of the statements (see paragraphs\u00a07 and 15 above); the courts then made sizeable awards as compensation for non-pecuniary damage.<\/p>\n<p>32. The Court reiterates that, when faced with the task of balancing the reputational interests of a commercial company against the general interests of society in being informed of irregularities in the use of public funds or of potential health hazards, as well as the corresponding interest (and duty) of members of the media in reporting on such irregularities or hazards, domestic courts ought to demonstrate convincingly the existence of a pressing social need capable of justifying an interference with freedom of the media (see OOO Regnum, cited above, \u00a7\u00a078). Yet the commercial courts that delivered the judgments complained of had limited their findings to establishing whether the three elements referred to by the Government in their observations (see paragraph 26 above) had been met, thus disregarding the need to weigh the reputational interests of a commercial company against the interests of members of the media in purveying information and the public interest in obtaining it.<\/p>\n<p>33. The Court has found a violation of Article 10 of the Convention in a large number of cases concerning freedom of the media in Russia for the reason that the domestic courts had failed to apply the Convention standards when deciding on a defamation dispute (see, among many others, OOO\u00a0Ivpress and Others v. Russia, nos.\u00a033501\/04 and 3 others, \u00a7 79, 22\u00a0January 2013; Kunitsyna v. Russia, no.\u00a09406\/05, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a046-48, 13\u00a0December 2016; Terentyev v.\u00a0Russia, no.\u00a025147\/09, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a022-24, 26 January 2017; OOO\u00a0Izdatelskiy Tsentr Kvartirnyy Ryad v. Russia, no.\u00a039748\/05, \u00a7\u00a046, 25\u00a0April 2017; Novaya Gazeta and Milashina v. Russia, no.\u00a04097\/06, \u00a7\u00a7\u00a066\u201173, 2 July 2019; Tolmachev v.\u00a0Russia, no. 42182\/11, \u00a7\u00a047, 2 June 2020; and Rashkin v.\u00a0Russia, no.\u00a069575\/10, \u00a7 18, 7 July 2020).<\/p>\n<p>34. Having carefully examined the parties\u2019 submissions, the Court cannot but conclude that the domestic courts did not give due consideration to the principles and criteria as laid down by the Court\u2019s case-law for balancing the right to respect for private life and the right to freedom of expression. They thus exceeded the margin of appreciation afforded to them and failed to demonstrate that there was a reasonable relationship of proportionality between the instances of interference in question and the legitimate aim pursued (see, with further references, Tolmachev, cited above, \u00a7 56, and Timakov and OOO ID Rubezh v. Russia, nos.\u00a046232\/10 and\u00a074770\/10, \u00a7 71, 8 September 2020). Nothing in the Government\u2019s submissions indicates otherwise. The\u00a0Court thus concludes that it has not been shown that the two instances of interference were \u201cnecessary in a democratic society\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>35. There has accordingly been a violation of Article\u00a010 of the Convention.<\/p>\n<p>III. APPLICATION OF ARTICLE\u00a041 OF THE CONVENTION<\/p>\n<p>36. Article\u00a041 of the Convention provides:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>37. The applicants claimed the amounts indicated in Appendix II below.<\/p>\n<p>38. The Government considered the amounts claimed excessive.<\/p>\n<p>39. The Court awards the applicants the amounts indicated in Appendix\u00a0II below, plus any tax that may be chargeable on the applicants.<\/p>\n<p>40. The Court considers it appropriate that the default interest rate should be based on the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank, to which should be added three percentage points.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Decides to join the applications;<\/p>\n<p>2. Dismisses the Government\u2019s objection in application no. 12996\/12 and declares the applications admissible;<\/p>\n<p>3. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention;<\/p>\n<p>4. Holds<\/p>\n<p>(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;<\/p>\n<p>(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;<\/p>\n<p>5. Dismisses the remainder of the applicants\u2019 claim for just satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>Done in English, and notified in writing on 28 September 2021, pursuant to Rule\u00a077\u00a0\u00a7\u00a7\u00a02 and 3 of the Rules of Court.<\/p>\n<p>Olga Chernishova \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Darian Pavli<br \/>\nDeputy Registrar \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0President<\/p>\n<p>__________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Appendix I<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>List of applications:<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100%;\" width=\"813\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.4283%;\" width=\"84\"><strong>Application no.<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 21.6061%;\" width=\"177\"><strong>Application name<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 14.3403%;\" width=\"156\"><strong>Lodged on<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 51.434%;\" width=\"396\"><strong>Applicant(s)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.4283%;\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"84\">12996\/12<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 21.6061%;\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"177\"><strong><em>Novaya Gazeta and Others v.\u00a0Russia<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 14.3403%;\" rowspan=\"3\" width=\"156\">10\/02\/2012<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 51.434%;\" width=\"396\">1.<strong> ANO \u201cRedaktsionno-Izdatelskiy Dom\u00a0\u2019NOVAYA GAZETA\u2019\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cthe\u00a0applicant company\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Legal entity incorporated under Russian law<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 51.434%;\" width=\"396\"><strong>2. Mr Aleksey Viktorovich POLUKHIN<\/strong><br \/>\nYear of birth: 1983Place of residence: MoscowNationality: Russian<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 51.434%;\" width=\"396\"><strong>3. Mr Valeriy Mikhaylovich NIKOLAYEV<\/strong><br \/>\nYear of birth: 1942Place of residence: MoscowNationality: Russian<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 12.4283%;\" width=\"84\">35043\/13<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 21.6061%;\" width=\"177\"><strong><em>Novaya Gazeta v.\u00a0Russia<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 14.3403%;\" width=\"156\">22\/11\/2012<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 51.434%;\" width=\"396\"><strong>ANO \u201cRedaktsionno-Izdatelskiy Dom\u00a0\u2019NOVAYA GAZETA\u2019\u201d<\/strong> (\u201cthe\u00a0applicant company\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>Legal entity incorporated under Russian law<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Appendix II<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td rowspan=\"2\" width=\"71\"><strong>Application no.<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"3\" width=\"358\"><strong>Applicants\u2019 claims for just satisfaction (Article 41 of the Convention)<\/strong><\/td>\n<td colspan=\"3\" width=\"384\"><strong>The Court\u2019s award<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"142\"><em>Pecuniary damage<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"111\"><em>Non-pecuniary damage<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"105\"><em>Costs and expenses<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Pecuniary damage<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"123\"><em>Non-pecuniary damage<\/em><\/td>\n<td width=\"138\"><em>Costs and expenses<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"71\"><strong>12996\/12<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">Applicant company: RUB\u00a0204,000 (EUR 3,240 at the exchange rate applicable on 23\/05\/2011, the date of execution of the judgment of 29\/12\/2010<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">1.\u00a0Applicant company: EUR\u00a05,000<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0Mr Polukhin: EUR\u00a05,000<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0Mr\u00a0Nikolayev: EUR\u00a05,000<\/td>\n<td width=\"105\">EUR\u00a07,664 (RUB\u00a0484,160 at the exchange rate applicable on the date of submission of the applicants\u2019 claims for just satisfaction)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">EUR\u00a03,240 to the applicant company<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">EUR\u00a02,500 to the applicant company, Mr Polukhin and Mr\u00a0Nikolayev, each<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\">EUR\u00a01,500 to the applicant company<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"71\"><strong>35043\/13<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"142\">RUB\u00a099,000<\/p>\n<p>(EUR\u00a02,326 at the exchange rate applicable on 19\/10\/2011, the date of execution of the judgment of 22\/03\/2011)<\/td>\n<td width=\"111\">EUR\u00a05,000<\/td>\n<td width=\"105\">EUR 100<\/p>\n<p>(RUB 4,000)<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">EUR\u00a02,326<\/td>\n<td width=\"123\">EUR\u00a05,000<\/td>\n<td width=\"138\">EUR\u00a0100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Download <a href=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CASE-OF-NOVAYA-GAZETA-AND-OTHERS-v.-RUSSIA.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/CASE-OF-NOVAYA-GAZETA-AND-OTHERS-v.-RUSSIA.docx\">WORD<\/a> Document<\/p>\n<div class=\"social-share-buttons\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785&text=CASE+OF+NOVAYA+GAZETA+AND+OTHERS+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Applications+nos.%C2%A012996%2F12+and+35043%2F13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785&title=CASE+OF+NOVAYA+GAZETA+AND+OTHERS+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Applications+nos.%C2%A012996%2F12+and+35043%2F13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LinkedIn<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785&description=CASE+OF+NOVAYA+GAZETA+AND+OTHERS+v.+RUSSIA+%28European+Court+of+Human+Rights%29+Applications+nos.%C2%A012996%2F12+and+35043%2F13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pinterest<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case concerns two sets of civil defamation proceedings instituted against members of the media by commercial companies alleging damage to their business reputation before commercial courts. The applicants considered that the domestic courts\u2019 judgments finding them civilly liable for&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/?p=16785\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-available-in-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16785"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16788,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16785\/revisions\/16788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laweuro.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}