as a result of prostate cancer, his physician, responding to public attacks about his competency in treating the late President – published a book titled Le Grand Secret (”The Big Secret”). In this book sensitive details of relationship were laid bare. Former President’s wife and children, aggrieved by this, launched an urgent application on 19 January 1996. An interim interdict was issued on 18 January 1996 by the Paris Court (Paris Tribunal de Grande instance) against the publisher and the physician. The interim interdict was later made final on 23 October 1996, where the applicant company was ordered to pay damages to the widow of the late President. The court on the 23 October 1996, further maintained a total ban on distribution of the book. The applicant company (publisher) appealed the decision until the matter served before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In dealing with the injunction which imposed a complete ban on distributing the book after nine (9) months of the President’s death, and the argument that the ban was justified, the ECtHR held as follows: “The court is not persuaded by such reasoning. It notes that by 23 October 1996, when the Paris de Grande instance gave judgment, François Mitterrand had been dead for nine and half months. Clearly, the context was no longer the same as on 18 January 1996, when the urgent – applications, judge issued the interim injunction prohibiting the distribution of Le Grand Secret. The Judge issued the injunction the day after the book’s publication, which itself had taken place barely ten days after President Mitterrand’s death, as the court has already held, distribution of the book soon after the president’s death could only have intensified the legitimate emotions of the deceased’s relatives, who inherited the rights vested in him (see para. 47 above). In the court’s opinion, as the President’s death became far distant in time, this factor became less important. Likewise, the more time that
as a result of prostate cancer, his physician, responding to public attacks about his competency in treating the late President – published a book titled Le Grand Secret (”The Big Secret”). In this book sensitive details of relationship were laid bare. Former President’s wife and children, aggrieved by this, launched an urgent application on 19 January 1996. An interim interdict was issued on 18 January 1996 by the Paris Court (Paris Tribunal de Grande instance) against the publisher and the physician. The interim interdict was later made final on 23 October 1996, where the applicant company was ordered to pay damages to the widow of the late President. The court on the 23 October 1996, further maintained a total ban on distribution of the book. The applicant company (publisher) appealed the decision until the matter served before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In dealing with the injunction which imposed a complete ban on distributing the book after nine (9) months of the President’s death, and the argument that the ban was justified, the ECtHR held as follows: “The court is not persuaded by such reasoning. It notes that by 23 October 1996, when the Paris de Grande instance gave judgment, François Mitterrand had been dead for nine and half months. Clearly, the context was no longer the same as on 18 January 1996, when the urgent – applications, judge issued the interim injunction prohibiting the distribution of Le Grand Secret. The Judge issued the injunction the day after the book’s publication, which itself had taken place barely ten days after President Mitterrand’s death, as the court has already held, distribution of the book soon after the president’s death could only have intensified the legitimate emotions of the deceased’s relatives, who inherited the rights vested in him (see para. 47 above). In the court’s opinion, as the President’s death became far distant in time, this factor became less important. Likewise, the more time that
Peta%20v%20Minister%20of%20Law%20%26%20Constitutional%20Affairs.docx