범죄수사와 취재원보호권 - 유럽인권법원 Telegraaf Media and Others v. the Netherlands판결을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Today, while the majority of countries regards freedom of the press as an essential right for continued existence and development of democratic society, it is controversial whether the right contains protection of journalistic sources. The protection of journalistic sources is, however, necessary because freedom of the press can not in fact function without the protection. Nevertheless, laws or precedents are not formed in Korea so there is lack of standards to solve the problems when protection of journalistic sources is the issue. Meanwhile, in Europe, Protection of journalistic sources is recognized as one of the basic conditions for press freedom and various legal principles has been developed. Especially, in the judgment of Telegraaf Media v. the Netherlands (Appl. no. 39315/06) mainly examined, European Court of Human Rights held that the use of surveillance powers against journalists are not justified even if the surveillance was conducted in the context of criminal investigations. European Court of Human Rights in the decision process emphasized the importance of protection of journalistic sources so that the press can fulfill its role as public watchdog. Recently, in Korea, controversies about the protection of journalistic sources resurfaced after the scandal on the leaking of the confidential document occurred. Therefore, This case is full of suggestions. This dissertation examined the positions and arguments of the European Court of Human Rights for protection of journalistic sources.