''Lehideux and Isorni v. France'' (case no. 55/1997/839/1045, application no. 24662/94, Publication 1998-VII, no. 92), was a case heard by the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

on punishing statements praising collaborators. In a judgement handed down 23 September 1998, the court has held by fifteen votes against six that the conviction of applicants for their article in favour of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

was prescribed by law and pursued a legitimate aim, but wasn't

necessary in a democratic society __NOTOC__ "Necessary in a democratic society" is a test found in Articles 8–11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides that the state may impose restrictions of these rights only if such restrictions are "necessary in a democra ...

and therefore violated Article 10 (freedom of expression). Besides, the court has ruled that the case "does not belong to the category of clearly established historical facts – such as the Holocaust – whose negation or revision would be removed from the protection of Article 10 by Article 17" (Para. 47). In doing so the court has ruled that the protections in Article 17, the prohibition of abuse of rights, could restrict the right of free speech granted under Article 10. This ruling has had a direct influence on International treaty law. The "'' Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems''" requires participating States to criminalize the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as of racist and xenophobic-motivated threats and insults. Article 8, Section 1 of the protocol specifically covers the denial of

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

and other genocides recognised as such by other international courts set up since 1945 by relevant international legal instruments. The Council of Europe ''Explanatory Report'' of the protocol states "European Court of Human Rights has made it clear that the denial or revision of “clearly established historical facts – such as the Holocaust – ��would be removed from the protection of Article 10 by Article 17” of the ECHR (see in this context the Lehideux and Isorni judgment of 23 September 1998)".Explanatory Report on the additional protocol to the convention on cybercrime
para. 42

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Judgment

ECHR : Lehideux and Isorni v. France Publication : 1998-VII, no. 92
on the website of Netherlands Institute of Human Rights faculty of Law Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights cases involving France European Court of Human Rights cases decided by the Grand Chamber Historical negationism 1998 in case law Philippe Pétain {{case-law-stub fr:Lehideux et Isorni c. France

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