29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… mutandis, X and Y v. France, no. 48158/11, § 61, 1 September 2016; Huhtamäki v. Finland, no. 54468/09, § 51, 6 March 2012; and Soros v. France, no. 50425/06, § 58, 6 October 2011). 128. The Court’s power to review compliance with domestic law is thus limited, as it is primarily for the national authorities, notably the courts, to interpret and apply domestic law (see, among other authorities, NIT S.R.L., cited above, § 160; Satakunnan Markkinapörssi Oy and Satamedia Oy, cited above, § 144; and Kudrevičius and Others, cited above, § 110). Unless the interpretation is arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable, the Court’s role is confined to ascertaining whether the effects of that interpretation are compatible with the Convention (see NIT S.R.L., cited above, § 160; Radomilja and Others v. Croatia [GC], nos. 37685/10 and 22768/12, § 149, 20 March 2018; and Centre for Democracy and the Rule of Law v. Ukraine, no. 10090/16, § 108, 26 March 2020, with further references). In any event, it is not for the Court to express a view on the appropriateness of methods chosen by the legislature of a respondent State to regulate a given field. Its task is confined to determining whether the methods adopted and the effects they entail are in conformity with the Convention (see Delfi AS, cited above, § 127, and Gorzelik and Others, cited above, § 67). (b) Application of those principles to the present case 129. The Grand Chamber would begin by noting that the applicant’s criminal conviction was handed down on the basis of section 23, first paragraph, section 24, eighth paragraph, of the Law of 29 July 1881, and section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982. Like the Chamber (see paragraph 71 of the Chamber judgment), it reiterates that a criminal conviction under sections 23 and 24 of the Law of 29 July 1881 meets the requirement of foreseeability of the law for the purposes of Article 10 of the Convention (see, among other authorities, Le Pen v. France (dec.), no. 18788/09, 20 April 2010; Soulas and Others v. France, no. 15948/03, § 29, 10 July 2008; Garaudy v. France (dec.), no. 65831/01, 24 June 2003; and Bonnet v. France (dec.), no. 35364/19, § 32, 25 January 2022). It does not see any reason to hold otherwise in the present case. 130. With regard more specifically to section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982, it notes that this provision lays down a legal framework which has developed in three stages (see paragraph 36 above ). 131. The Government submitted in this connection that section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982 provided for two scenarios, depending on whether or not the statement had undergone “prior fixing” (see paragraph 103 above). The Court observes that an absence of “prior fixing” had precisely been the reason for the amendment introduced by https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 55/100

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