TRYING CASES IN THE MEDIA: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW

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03__RESTA__CONTRACT PROOF.DOC11/18/2008 11:38:48 AM52 LAW AND CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS [Vol. 71:31The second substantial constraint protects the privacy of trial participants. 107Particular care should also be taken to avoid any disclosure of a witness’ identity,“unless a witness has given his or her prior consent, the identification of awitness is of public concern, or the testimony has already been given in public.”108Regarding procedural criteria, the Recommendation stresses the importanceof nondiscrimination and regular provision of information in high-profile cases.According to Principle 4, “when journalists have lawfully obtained informationin the context of on going criminal proceedings from judicial authorities or policeservices, those authorities and services should make available such information,without discrimination, to all journalists who make or have made the samerequest.” 109With respect to high-profile cases, “judicial authorities and policeservices should inform the media about their essential acts, so long as this doesnot prejudice the secrecy of the investigations and police enquiries or delay orimpede the outcome of the proceedings.” 110 In general, it is recommended thatthe provision of information should be carried out “through press conferencesby authorised officers or similar authorised means.” 111Last, Principle 7 prohibits the exploitation of information about ongoingcriminal proceedings “for commercial purposes or purposes other than thoserelevant to the enforcement of the law.” 112 The issue of “checkbook journalism,”for example, has been intensively discussed in recent years in Europe andabroad. 113 Some countries have enacted statutes comparable to the U.S. “Son ofSam” laws, with the aim of preventing criminals from profiting from the commercialexploitation of the criminal event at the (emotional and material) ex-107. RECOMMENDATION REC (2003) 13, supra note 101, at app. Principles concerning the provisionof information through the media in relation to criminal proceedings, Principle 8. See Craxi v. Italy (No.2), App. No. 25337/94, Eur. Ct. H.R. at [66]–[76] (Mar. 5, 2003), http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int////tkp197/viewhbkm.asp?action=open&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649&key=7933&sessionId=14267202&skin=hudoc-en&attachment=true (holding the State responsible for the publicationin some newspapers of telephone interceptions of a strictly private nature, in violation of the rightto private life guaranteed by art. 8 of the Convention. Such interceptions had been carried out by thepolice, investigating corruption charges brought against the plaintiff, and filed in the public prosecutor’sregistry. Either by a malfunction of the registry or by communication with one of the parties to the proceedings,some journalists came in possession of the bulk of the transcripts and published them. Referringto the doctrine of positive obligations to protect fundamental rights, the Court affirmed the State’sliability on two grounds: (1) the authorities failed to provide safe custody of the transcripts, and (2) noeffective inquiry was carried out after the violation to sanction the persons responsible for the wrongdoing).108. RECOMMENDATION REC (2003) 13, supra note 101, at app. Principles Concerning the Provisionof Information Through the Media in Relation to Criminal Proceedings, Principle 16.109. Id. at Principle 4.110. Id. at Principle 6.111. Id. at Principle 5.112. Id. at Principle 7.113. See JACONELLI, supra note 38, at 266; KREISEL, supra note 100, at 161; Louis Blom-Cooper,Cheque-book Journalism on Display, PUB. L. 378 (2003); Colin Munro, When Criminals Sell Their Stories,PUB. L. 55, 58 (2006); Lutz Tillmanns, Mediale Vermarktung von Verbrechen und Grundsätze einesfair trial, http://www.kanzlei-prof-schweizer.de/bibliothek/content/tillmanns_mediale_vermarktung.html (last visited Nov. 29, 2007).
03__RESTA__CONTRACT PROOF.DOC11/18/2008 11:38:48 AMAutumn 2008] TRYING CASES IN THE MEDIA 53pense of their victims. 114Similarly, some Press Councils have chosen to strictlylimit the admissibility of payments to witnesses (and sometimes to criminals), inorder to avoid prejudicing proceedings. 115 In light of these findings, it seems appropriateto recommend that public bodies should also abstain from exploitinginformation pertaining to criminal proceedings for financial reasons or for purposesother than those relevant to law enforcement.E. Private-Law RemediesPenal provisions on pretrial secrecy are not the only sources of court-relatedspeech restraints. They represent just a single element of a more-complex mosaicand are of limited practical importance. These provisions are supplementedin most Continental legal systems by private-law remedies aimed at furtheringthe interests in the privacy, dignity, and reputation of trial participants.Indeed, unfair media coverage of criminal cases may not only hinder theproper functioning of justice, but also infringe fundamental rights of the partiesto the proceedings, irrespective of its outcomes. 116Stigma and humiliation mayderive from a suspect’s simply being charged, adhering to the individual evenafter acquittal (labeling effect). 117 Indeed, the court of public opinion can imposeancillary reputational sanctions, which are independent from the judicial ascertainmentof truth and which tend to persist long after the conclusion of the proceedings.118Also, the personal well-being of the victim or the witness of a criminal offensemay be seriously affected by an unrestrained exercise of media freedom. 119114. Particularly significant is the German Law of 1998 on victims’ guarantees (Opferanspruchssicherungsgesetz);for a detailed analysis, see MEIKO STENGER, DASOPFERANSPRUCHSSICHERUNGSGESETZ: DER ZUGRIFF DES OPFERS EINER STRAFTAT AUF DIEMEDIENERLÖSE DES TÄTERS UNTER BERÜCKSICHTIGUNG GRENZÜBERSCHREITENDERSACHVERHALTE (2006); Magdalene Kläver, ‘Dornröschenschlaf’ des Opferanspruchssicherungsgesetzes,JURISTISCHE RUNDSCHAU 177 (2004).115. In England in 1996, after the trial of Rosemary West, R v. West, (1996) 2 Cr. App. R. 374, theLord Chancellor’s Department promoted a discussion paper on “payments to witnesses,” which wasfollowed by another consultation paper in March 2002. Eventually, it was decided to leave the matter toself-regulation. See ARLIDGE, EADY & SMITH, supra note 24. Accordingly, the Press ComplaintsCommission has amended its Code of Practice by prohibiting—or at least strictly limiting—payments towitnesses and criminals. See Louis Blom-Cooper, supra note 113, at 378–79.116. See Joachim Bornkamm, Die Berichterstattung über schwebende Strafverfahren und dasPersönlichkeitsrecht des Beschuldigten, NSTZ 102 (1983) (F.R.G.); Franz Riklin & Frank Höpfel,Verletzung der Unschuldsvermutung, in ALTERNATIV-ENTWURF STRAFJUSTIZ UND MEDIEN, supranote 73, at 54.117. See Scheer, supra note 39, at 39. For an illustrative case of unfair media reporting with nefariouspersonal consequences, see Bundesgerichtshof [BGH] [Federal Court of Justice] Mar. 5, 1963, 16NJW 904 (F.R.G.), in which a commercial agent, before any conviction, was depicted in the press asone of the instigators of a gang of burglars and dealers in stolen goods.118. “Ancillary sanction” (zusätzliche Strafe) is the expression used by Bornkamm, supra note 116,at 108. See also Vincenzo Zeno-Zencovich, Comunicazione, reputazione, sanzione, DIRITTODELL’INFORMAZIONE E DELL’INFORMATICA 263, 271 (2007) (Italy) (providing an insightful analysis of“reputational sanctions”).119. See KREISEL, supra note 100, at 11; Heinz Schöch, Schutz von Verletzten, in ALTERNATIV-ENTWURF STRAFJUSTIZ UND MEDIEN, supra note 73, at 79.
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TRYING CASES IN THE MEDIA: A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW

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