Europe: Princess wins tabloid privacy war
This is a very important - and strange - decision that will affect photojournalism. According to BBC news, "Princess Caroline - the daughter of Prince Rainier of Monaco and film star Grace Kelly - has won a major legal battle over the right of newspapers to publish pictures of her. The European Court of Human rights said photographs of her and her children should not have been published, even if they were taken in a public place. It was hailed as a landmark decision which could affect the rights of "paparazzi" photographers elsewhere. It overturns a German ruling in 1999, which said as a public figure she had to accept being photographed in public."
"Three magazines - Bunte, Neue Post and Freizeit Revue - published the pictures, which showed the princess skiing, horse-riding, sitting in a cafe and playing tennis with her husband, Prince Ernst-August of Hanover.
German constitutional judges had said the princess was a "personality from contemporary history", so could not complain about pictures taken of her in a public place.
But the European judges criticised the German decision. They said the papers had violated the princess' right to privacy, in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights."Every person, however well-known, must be able to enjoy a legitimate hope for the protection of... their private life," the court said.
The lawyer for Germany, Klaus Stoltenberg, said his government would examine the decision and make a decision later as to whether to appeal. It has three months to decide.
Personally, I think the German judges were right if pictures are really taken in a public space.
Source: BBC news
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I agree with Bertrand and the German court, photos taken in public should be publishable. Anyone, celebrity or not who leaves their home and enters the public becomes fair game to public-eyes, people-watchers, photographers and even "paparazzi".
Will the European Court also recognize that government surveillance cameras are also a violation of an individual's privacy?
However, I do disagree with your first line however Bertrand as I don't think this ruling will impact photojournalism too much. Editors will likely continue to publish these images and at most we will see this issue back in court.
Jamal A. WILSON - Photographer