European court hears case pitting French magazine against Prince of Monaco

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard on Wednesday a case that pits a Paris-based magazine's freedom of expression against the right to privacy of Prince Albert of Monaco.

Anne-Marie Couderc, former publication director of Paris Match, and the weekly magazine's publishing company, Hatchette Filipacchi Associes, filed an application against France for the violation of their freedom of expression when they were ordered to pay damages to the Prince of Monaco for published intimate details of his private life.

The affair began with an article in May 2005, in which Paris Match magazine published an interview with a woman who claimed to have given birth to the illegitimate child of the Prince.

"Publication of this article despite the Prince's formal opposition clearly constituted an invasion of his privacy and an infringement on his right to control his own image," claims the French government in their response to the ECHR application.

In June 2005, French courts found the applicants to have violated Prince Albert's right to protecting his image.

The decision hinged on the argument that the divulgation of information about the child, who was, at the time of publication unconfirmed by the Prince, did not constitute a matter of general public interest.

The Prince was awarded 50,000 euros in damages, and Paris Match was ordered to print a full-page cover article in the magazine about the results of the decision.

Listing the global media coverage of the story, including publications in major French newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro, Marie-Christine de Percin, counsel for the applicants, argued that the existence of the Prince's illegitimate son constituted a general public interest.

"It is difficult to pretend that this information was strictly personal and private," she declared during Wednesday's hearing.

The application also states the French publisher's view that Albert's role in public functions makes any question related to his hereditary succession, especially the existence of a potential heir, relevant to public interest.

The French government, however, argued that the status of a person should not affect his or her right to privacy.

A date for court's decision has not been given, but according to a press officer at the ECHR, it can take several months before a ruling is made. Endi