Ubertazzi on Kate Provence Pictures

Benedetta Ubertazzi is a Full-Tenured Assistant Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Macerata, Italy and a Fellow at Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

The publication of topless photographs of Britain’s likely future queen Catherine Elizabeth Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge (hereinafter: Kate Middleton or the Duchess), by certain newspapers in several EU countries – such as France, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland – demonstrates once more the need to strike a fair balance between the protection of the right to respect for private life guaranteed by Art. 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter: ECHR) and the right to freedom of expression granted under Art. 10 of the same Convention.

The Kate Middleton photo case is reminiscent of the very recent and famous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereafter: ECtHR) in the cases von Hannover v. Germany of February the 7^th 2012 (Grand Chamber, applications nos. 40660/08 and 60641/08: hereinafter: von Hannover judgment 2) and of June the 24^th 2004 respectively (Third Section, application no. 59320/00: hereinafter: von Hannover judgment 1). In both these cases, the elder daughter of the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco, Princess Caroline von Hannover, lodged applications before the ECtHR against the Federal Republic of Germany alleging that the refusal by the German courts to grant injunctions to prevent further publications of different sets of photos of her infringed her right to respect for her private life as guaranteed by Article 8 ECHR.

The ECtHR  maintained that under Articles 8 and 10 ECHR States are obliged to balance the protection of the fundamental human right to respect for private life, which comprises the right to control the use of one’s image, on the one hand, and the fundamental human right of freedom of expression respectively, which extends to the publication of the relevant photos by the press under a commercial interest, on the other hand. To strike this balance member States typically insert specific domestic provisions in their copyright acts, prohibiting the dissemination of an image without the express approval of the person concerned, except where this image portrays an aspect of contemporary society, on the condition that its publication does not interfere with a legitimate interest of the person concerned (see Sections 22(1) and 23(1) of the German Copyright Arts Domain under which the German courts refused to grant the injunction required by Princess Caroline). These provisions are interpreted so as to distinguish between private individuals unknown to the public and public or political figures, affording the former a wider right to control the use of their images, whereas the latter a very limited protection of their right to respect for private life: then, public figures have to accept that they “might be photographed at almost any time, systematically, and that the photos are then widely disseminated even if […] the photos and accompanying articles relate exclusively to details of their private life” [para 74 Hannover I]. However, under this interpretation the balance between the right to respect for private life and the right to freedom of expression struck by the provisions at stake is too much in favour of the latter, but insufficient to effectively protect the private life of public figures, since even where a person is known to the general public he or she may rely on a legitimate expectation of protection of and respect for his/her private life. Thus, these provisions should preferably be understood narrowly, namely as allowing the publication of the pictures not merely when the interested person is a public figure, but rather when the published photos contribute to a debate of general interest.

To establish if the relevant pictures satisfy this last requirement, according to the ECtHR regard must be given to different factors (von Hannover judgment 2, para 109-113): whether the person at stake is not only well known to the public, but also exercises official functions; whether the pictures relate exclusively to details of his/her private life and have the sole scope of satisfying public curiosity in that respect, or rather concern facts capable of contributing to a general debate in a democratic society; whether the pictures have been taken in a secluded and isolated place out of the public eyes or even in a public place but by subterfuge or other illicit means, or rather in a public place in conditions not unfavourable to the interested person; whether the publication of the photos constitutes a serious intrusion with grave consequences for the person concerned, or rather has no such effects; and whether the pictures are disseminated to a broad section of the public around the word, or rather are published in a national and local newspaper with limited circulation.

Under these conditions, in the von Hannover judgment 1 the ECtHR held that the German courts refusal to grant injunctions against the further publications of certain photos of Princess Caroline von Hannover had infringed her right to respect for private life ex Art. 8 ECHR: in fact, despite the applicant being well known to the public, she exercised no official function within or on behalf of the State of Monaco or any of its institutions, but rather limited herself to represent the Prince’s Monaco family as a member of it; furthermore, the photos related exclusively to details of her private life and as such aimed at satisfying a mere public curiosity; finally these photos where shot in isolated places or in public places but by subterfuge. In contrast, in the von Hannover judgment 2 the ECtHR reached the opposite conclusion, namely holding that there had been no violation of Article 8 of the ECHR: in fact, despite Princess Caroline exercising no official functions, she was undeniably well known to the public and could therefore not be considered an ordinary private individual; furthermore, some of the photos at stake supported and illustrated the information on the illness affecting Prince Rainer III that was being conveyed – reporting on how the Prince’s children, including Princess Caroline, reconciled their obligation of family solidarity with the legitimate needs of their private life, among which was the desire to go on holiday – and as such were related to an event of contemporary society; moreover, despite the photos having been shot without the applicant’s knowledge, they were taken in the middle of a street in St. Moritz in winter not surreptitiously or in conditions unfavourable to the applicant.

In light of these conclusions, if the courts of the EU States where the topless pictures are being published refused to grant injunctions to prevent further publications, at least in their respective territories, Kate Middleton -after having exhausted the internal procedural remedies in the States at stake – could lodge applications against these same States before the ECtHR for the infringement of their positive obligations to protect her private life guaranteed by Article 8 ECHR. In such circumstances, the ECtHR would most probably conclude that there have been violations of this Article by the States involved.

In fact, despite the Duchess exercising official functions by performing senior Royal duties since her first trip to Canada and US in July 2011 (see The Telegraph), the pictures at stake relate exclusively to details of her private life and have the sole scope of satisfying public curiosity in that respect, but do not concern facts capable of contributing to a general debate over Kate Middleton’s official role. Furthermore, the pictures were taken by subterfuge while the couple were on a private property at a luxury holiday chateau owned by the Queen of England’s nephew – who promised absolute privacy to the Duchess -, by means of a photographer equipped with a high powered lens from a distance of over half a mile away from the chateau (see The Daily Mail ; P A Clarke). Also, the publication of the photos constitutes a serious intrusion with grave consequences for the couple, evinced by their official statement, according to which “the Royal Highnesses have been hugely saddened to learn that” the publication of the pictures at stake has “invaded their privacy in such a grotesque and totally unjustifiable manner. […] The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so” (see The Huffington Post). Finally, despite the pictures having been disseminated by local newspapers with apparently limited national circulation, the original publications have initiated the immediate distribution of the images “over the internet like wild-fire”, with the result of reaching a broad section of the public around the world (see SeeClouds).