RUBINS v. LATVIA JUDGMENT 21 applicant’s motives for the impugned statements are relevant for the assessment of the proportionality of the interference in the applicant’s exercise of his freedom of expression. 88. The Court points to the following circumstances of the case which are of importance when addressing the motives which guided the applicant. Firstly, it was not disputed that it was the reorganisation of the department which prompted the applicant to raise complaints and to question the transparency of the procedure. In this connection the Court notes that before sending the impugned email the applicant came up with several proposals and explicitly asked the Rector to forward them to the members of the constituent assembly (see paragraph 11 above). Thus, the applicant attempted first to address the issues within the hierarchy (see, mutatis mutandis, Heinisch, cited above, §§ 72-76, and Guja, cited above, § 73). Secondly, in view of the structure of the University, it was not completely unreasonable to address the demands to the Rector, given that the latter was the respondent in the appeal proceedings and, in accordance with the constitution of the University, could convene the constituent assembly (see paragraph 32 above). In addition, he had a right of suspensive veto in the Senate (ibid.) and was the highest-ranking official managing the University, and represented it without specific authorisation. The Court also notes that in the contested email the applicant explicitly expressed his intention to inform the constituent assembly before it took its decision, and that the deadline by which the applicant asked the Rector to reply coincided with the meeting of the constituent assembly. Thirdly, as regards the calculation of the compensation, the amount requested was not unreasonable, in view of the fact that the applicant had been elected as a professor until April 2013 and that the proposed settlement was based on his average monthly income as well as on the terms laid down in his employment contract, according to which all disputes should first be settled in an amicable manner. 89. The Court cannot speculate as to how the national courts would assess the above facts but it notes that they are relevant for the purposes of the analysis of the proportionality of the alleged interference. In the present case, however, the Court does not have the benefit of the relevant assessment by the domestic courts. (iii) Harm to the reputation of others 90. The Government, relying on Palomo Sánchez and Others (cited above), further argued that the use of insulting or offensive expressions in the professional environment was capable of justifying sanctions. 91. The Court finds it necessary to distinguish the case of Palomo Sánchez and Others, cited above, from the present case. In the present case, although the Government alleged that the impugned email contained insults, this was not analysed and found to be established by the domestic courts. While the applicant’s previous remarks could raise certain questions in this