29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… 135. Secondly, as regards the application of section 93-3 of Law no. 82‑652 of 29 July 1982 and its regime of “cascading” liability, the Court notes at the outset that the case of Radio France and Others (cited above), as relied upon by the Government (see paragraph 103 above) concerned a situation which is not relevant to the present case, namely the presumption of liability of a publication director, in the audiovisual field, where the impugned message had undergone “prior fixing” before being broadcast. 136. The Court would underscore the importance of clearly and precisely defining the scope of criminal offences relating to expression which incites, encourages or justifies violence, and the need to interpret the relevant provisions of criminal law strictly. It further notes the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers, which has emphasised the fact that the responsibilities and liability rules imposed on Internet intermediaries should be “transparent, clear and predictable” (see paragraph 62 above). It is important that the High Contracting Parties bear this in mind when adapting existing regulations or adopting new norms, as and when technologies such as the Internet progress. 137. The Court notes that the “cascading” liability regime, which is intended to solve the problem, for the potential victim of an offence, of the author’s anonymity, was endorsed by the Court of Cassation in its case-law from 2010 onwards (see paragraph 39 above). 138. In the present case, the authors were not only identified but also prosecuted together with the applicant and convicted as his accomplices. In this connection, the Court notes that, prior to the applicant’s conviction, the Court of Cassation’s jurisprudence already permitted the possibility that the liability of the producer alone could be brought into play in the case of offences made out under the press legislation on account of statements by clearly identified third parties. The principle of the autonomy of the proceedings, which has been applied by different formations of the Court of Cassation in relation to various situations (see paragraph 43 above), applies without prejudice to the “cascading” liability regime (see paragraph 39 above), which is intended for a different scenario, namely where proceedings cannot be brought against the author of the offending message for a variety of reasons. Thus, in a judgment handed down prior to the facts of the present case, on 16 February 2010 (appeal no. 09-81.064, Bull. crim., no. 31), the Court of Cassation had quashed the judgment of a Court of Appeal which had acquitted the administrator of a blog, without ascertaining whether he could be prosecuted as producer, in proceedings concerning a comment posted thereon by a third party, even though that author had been identified (see paragraph 39 above). The Court would further emphasise https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 57/100