Decision of the Court of Cassation, VI Criminal Section, No. 31735 of 15 April 2014

The Court of Cassation annulled the seizing of computers and diaries belonging to two journalists, which had been ordered as part of an investigation into the illicit publication of the confidential minutes of certain meetings held at the National Anti-Mafia Directorate. By omitting to balance the need for investigation with the right of journalists not to disclose their sources of information, the order was in breach of the freedom of information and expression, whose protection is guaranteed under the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 10 of the ECHR as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights.