PARTLY DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE GARDAR GÍSLASON

It is on the final question arising under Article 10 (art. 10) - whether in the specific circumstances of the case (see paragraphs 65-69 of the judgment) the interference was "necessary in a democratic society" - that I regretfully depart from the opinion of the majority.

Allegations that crimes have been committed are either true or false. It is certainly "necessary" to restrain false allegations of serious crime in order to protect the reputation or rights of others. Therefore, in a defamation case it is in my view crucial whether or not the imputation of a serious crime has been made in good faith as to its truth.

Although the applicant, in his article of 7 December 1983, took as his starting-point the much debated Skafti Jónsson case, he emphasised that he considered it to be "of little importance"; for him, the real problem was "bigger and much more horrifying". He referred to another case, that of a young man whom he had seen at a hospital several years previously and who had been paralysed by the brutal methods of the Reykjavik police. In my view he thereby implied that this "case" had not been investigated in any way and that no policeman had therefore been questioned, let alone found guilty. The applicant did nothing to substantiate this story, and there is no indication that the young man had actually been ill-treated by the police. In the defamation case the applicant was convicted not only for vituperation and insults but also for the above-mentioned imputation to policemen of serious crimes which, if they had in fact been committed, would have made them liable to heavy sentences.

Bearing the above in mind, I fully endorse the Court’s reasoning in its Barfod v. Denmark judgment of 22 February 1989 (Series A no. 149, p. 14, para. 35). Mr Thorgeir Thorgeirson was convicted not for criticising but rather for making defamatory accusations against members of the Reykjavik police, which were likely not only to lower them in public esteem but also to expose them to hatred and contempt, and those accusations were published without any supporting evidence or other justification.

It is therefore my opinion that no breach of Article 10 (art. 10) has been established in the circumstances of the present case.

I have voted on the Article 50 (art. 50) issue on the basis of the findings of the majority concerning Article 10 (art. 10).

[] The case is numbered 47/1991/299/370. The first number is the case's position on the list of cases referred to the Court in the relevant year (second number). The last two numbers indicate the case's position on the list of cases referred to the Court since its creation and on the list of the corresponding originating applications to the Commission.

[] As amended by Article 11 of Protocol No. 8 (P8-11), which came into force on 1 January 1990.

[] Note by the Registrar: For practical reasons this annex will appear only with the printed version of the judgment (volume 239 of Series A of the Publications of the Court), but a copy of the Commission's report is obtainable from the registry.