Journalists' lawsuit against French intelligence-gathering techniques 'inadmissible': European court

By Nur Asena Erturk

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared a lawsuit by journalists against a French law on intelligence-gathering techniques “inadmissible” on Thursday.

A group of journalists and lawyers “alleged that the legal framework concerning intelligence-gathering techniques used in France was not compatible with Articles 8, 10 and 13” of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to a statement.

They said the techniques “infringed the right to respect for private life, the right to freedom of expression and the right to an effective remedy and to a fair hearing.”

But the court ruled that “they had not brought the matter before the National Oversight Commission for Intelligence-Gathering Techniques … or the Conseil d’État to ascertain whether any intelligence-gathering techniques had been used unlawfully to monitor them.”

The ECHR found that at the time of the applications, “an effective remedy” was available before the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court.

“They should have first used that avenue to submit the Convention complaints which they had raised before the Court. Furthermore, the applicants had not established the existence of any special circumstances exempting them from the obligation to make use of that remedy,” said the ECHR, noting that the decision was final.