The Freedom to Discuss Public Affairs and Act LIII of 2018 on the Protection of the Private Sphere

Abstract

The interpretation of personality rights and the relevant provisions of the Civil Code have gained momentum as a result of the decisions adopted by the Constitutional Court and regular courts in recent years related to the freedom of speech, specifically in discussions of public affairs. It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the number of important decisions taken during this period exceeded those made between 1994 and 2014, a span of twenty years. The significant number of constitutional complaints raised indicates a similar intensity in the near future, which one hopes will lead to the cementing of constitutional principles and the resolution of contradictions in their application. Discussions of public affairs continue to enjoy a broad degree of freedom, and the case law under the aegis of the Civil Code has been extremely helpful in defining the scope of this freedom. With regard to questions of detail, no long-term conclusions may be drawn, due to the rapid changes in this area and legislative efforts as recently as the summer of 2018, but the main criteria needed to strike a balance between the protection of personality rights, and the freedom of the debate of public affairs have already been identified, and the principles applicable to decisions made in individual cases are available in a solid and mature form with a sufficient degree of detail. The category of public affairs is to be interpreted broadly, whereby the public figure is an important category, but it is of secondary importance compared to the category of public affairs, and where the differentiation between statements of fact and statements of opinion is to be treated in a flexible way, and the threshold of tolerance of those concerned is clear from the case law of the Constitutional Court.