KABLIS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT
27
cited above, § 449). No other aim was advanced either by the Government
or by the domestic courts in the present case.
89. The Court takes note, however, of the Constitutional Court’s
explanation that the purpose of the rules governing public events, and in
particular the notification and approval procedure, is to allow the authorities
to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of both those attending
the public event and others (see, for a summary of the Constitutional
Court’s ruling, Lashmankin and Others, cited above, § 273). In its turn, the
prohibition on campaigning for participation before the public event has
been approved by the competent authorities aims at ensuring that citizens
are not misled by calls to participate in a public event the location and time
of which have not yet been finally determined (see, for a summary of the
Constitutional Court’s ruling, Lashmankin and Others, cited above, § 267).
Given that both the notification procedure for public events and the
prohibition on campaigning for participation before that procedure has been
successfully completed apparently aim at protecting the rights of others, the
Court will assume that the blocking of publications which call for
participation in a public event in breach of those procedures and rules also
pursues the legitimate aim of protecting the rights of others.
90. The Court further notes that in the present case the blocking measure
was taken before a judicial decision was issued on the illegality of the
published content. It therefore amounted to a prior restraint (see, for a
similar reasoning, Ahmet Yıldırım, cited above, § 46).
91. The Court reiterates in this connection that Article 10 does not
prohibit prior restraints on publication as such. However, the dangers
inherent in prior restraints are such that they call for the most careful
scrutiny on the part of the Court and are justified only in exceptional
circumstances (see Association Ekin v. France, no. 39288/98, § 56, ECHR
2001-VIII; Cumpǎnǎ and Mazǎre v. Romania [GC], no. 33348/96, § 118,
ECHR 2004-XI; and Verein gegen Tierfabriken Schweiz (VgT)
v. Switzerland (no. 2) [GC], no. 32772/02, § 93, ECHR 2009). This is
especially so as far as the press is concerned, for news is a perishable
commodity and to delay its publication, even for a short period, may well
deprive it of all its value and interest. This danger however also applies to
publications other than periodicals that deal with a topical issue (see
Association Ekin, ibid., and Ahmet Yıldırım, cited above, § 47).
92. In cases of prior restraint, a legal framework is required, ensuring
both tight control over the scope of bans and effective judicial review to
prevent any abuse of power. In that regard, the judicial review of such a
measure, based on a weighing-up of the competing interests at stake and
designed to strike a balance between them, is inconceivable without a
framework establishing precise and specific rules regarding the application
of preventive restrictions on freedom of expression (see, inter alia, Ahmet
Yıldırım, cited above, § 64, with further references).