KALDA v. ESTONIA JUDGMENT 13 46. The Court observes that it is not in dispute that the restriction on prisoners’ use of the Internet was based on the Imprisonment Act, which limits prisoners’ Internet access to the official databases of legislation and the database of judicial decisions. Internet access beyond the authorised websites was prohibited. The Court is thus satisfied that the interference at issue was “prescribed by law” within the meaning of Article 10 § 2 of the Convention. 47. Furthermore, the Court accepts the Government’s argument that the interference in question served the aims of the protection of the rights of others and the prevention of disorder and crime. 48. As regards the issue of whether the interference was “necessary” within the meaning of Article 10 § 2, the Court notes that according to the Government, granting prisoners access to a greater number of Internet sites would have increased security risks and required the allocation of additional material and human resources in order to mitigate such risks. By contrast, the applicant was of the opinion that allowing access to three more websites (in addition to those already authorised) would not have given rise to any additional security issues. Possible security issues were already effectively managed by the Ministry of Justice, which blocked any links or other such features on already authorised websites that could cause security concerns; there was no reason, according to the applicant, why this should be different in the case of the three requested additional websites. 49. The Court reiterates that under section 31-1 of the Imprisonment Act, prisoners are granted limited access to the Internet – including access to the official databases of legislation and the database of judicial decisions available on the Internet. 50. The Court notes that the websites of the Council of Europe Information Office in Tallinn, the Chancellor of Justice, and the Riigikogu, to which the applicant wished to have access, predominantly contained legal information and information related to fundamental rights, including the rights of prisoners. For example, the website of the Riigikogu contained bills together with explanatory memoranda to them, verbatim records of the sittings of the Riigikogu, and minutes of committee sittings. The website of the Chancellor of Justice (who is also an ombudsman in Estonia) contained his selected legal opinions. The Court considers that the accessibility of such information promotes public awareness and respect for human rights and gives weight to the applicant’s argument that the Estonian courts used such information and the applicant needed access to it for the protection of his rights in the court proceedings. The Court has also taken note of the applicant’s argument that legal research in the form of browsing through available information (in order to find relevant information) and making specific requests for information were different matters and that the websites were meant for legal researches rather than making specific requests. Indeed, in order to make a specific request one would need to be

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