MATÚZ v. HUNGARY JUDGMENT 5 A. Admissibility 19. The Court notes that the application is not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 § 3 (a) of the Convention. It further notes that it is not inadmissible on any other grounds. It must therefore be declared admissible. B. Merits 1. The parties’ submissions 20. The applicant submitted that his right to freedom of expression had been breached in that he had been dismissed from employment because of a publication. As a journalist and chairman of the trade union at the public television broadcaster he had had the right and obligation to inform the public about alleged censorship at the television company. He emphasised that the statements in his book had never been refuted and that he had acted in good faith, in compliance with the ethics of his profession. 21. He further submitted that no consideration had been given to his rights under the Convention by the domestic courts reviewing his dismissal. He pointed to the fact that the domestic courts had formally accepted that freedom of expression might be lawfully limited in labour relations, regardless of the nature and the circumstances of the case. 22. The Government submitted that the applicant, as an employee at the State television company, had been bound by a labour contract and in particular by a duty of confidentiality. The fact that he was the chairman of a trade union had not exempted him from complying with the obligations flowing from the employment contract. By publishing the impugned book without prior authorisation and revealing confidential information, he had breached his duties, leading to his summary – and justified – dismissal. 23. The Government further argued that the applicant had published the statements and correspondence of persons identified by name. Any disclosure of such personal data would have required prior authorisation of the persons concerned, which the applicant had failed to obtain. 24. The Government also contended that there had been no interference with the applicant’s freedom of expression, since his book about the presumed censorship at the State television had actually been published and its content had become accessible to anyone. The applicant contested this view.