29/09/2023, 12:35 SANCHEZ v. FRANCE - 45581/15 (Judgment : No Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} : Grand Chamber) [2023] ECHR 418 (1… not yet given rise to any specific case-law at the relevant time. However, as the Court has already pointed out, a margin of doubt as to the consequences of applying a law to borderline facts does not in itself mean that its application fails to meet the requirement of foreseeability (see paragraph 126 above), nor does the fact that this was the first case of its kind as such render the interpretation of the law unforeseeable (see paragraph 127 above). The novel character of the legal question raised in the case was not in itself incompatible with the requirements of accessibility and foreseeability of the law. Moreover, as the Chamber rightly observed (see paragraphs 69 and 72 of its judgment), the applicant, even though he was assisted by a lawyer at the Conseil d’État and at the Court of Cassation, did not raise this matter in his appeal on points of law, thus showing that he did not intend to dispute in the domestic courts the quality of the legal basis of the proceedings against him. In any event, the Court notes that the applicant did not substantiate his allegation that the domestic courts’ interpretation had been arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable (see paragraphs 127 and 128 above). On the contrary, having regard to the foregoing, it was one of the possible and reasonably foreseeable interpretations. 142. Having regard to all of the foregoing considerations, the Court finds that section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982 was formulated with sufficient precision, for the purposes of Article 10 of the Convention, to enable the applicant to regulate his conduct in the circumstances of the present case. 3. Whether the interference pursued a legitimate aim 143. The applicant did not agree that his criminal conviction had pursued a legitimate aim, arguing that section 93-3 of Law no. 82-652 of 29 July 1982 was intended as a basis for proceedings to be brought against the producer only where they could not be brought against the publication director and authors. 144. While referring to its findings on the lawfulness of the interference in this connection (see paragraphs 135-139 above), the Court takes the view that there is no doubt, having regard to the reasoning given by the domestic courts in support of the applicant’s conviction (see paragraphs 26-28 and 31‑26 above), that the interference pursued not only the legitimate aim of protecting the reputation or the rights of others but also that of preventing disorder and crime (contrast Perinçek v. Switzerland [GC], no. 27510/08, § 153, ECHR 2015 (extracts)). https://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/418.html 59/100