The Spanish Constitutional Court and the conflict between the right to freedom of information and the rights to protect one’s own honor, personal privacy and selfimage: jurisprudence review

Abstract

This paper qualitatively reviews the Constitutional Court jurisprudence since its inception in 1982 until 2013 with the intent to gain knowledge about the legal basis used by the Court regarding the conflict between Articles 20.1 d) and 18.1 of the Spanish Constitution. To carry out this analysis, a number of established doctrines balance between fundamental rights, neutral reportage and the proportionality principle, have been revised in 105 sentences. The Constitutional Court has consistently settled the guidelines that define the limits on both the right to freedom of information and the rights to protect one’s own honor, personal privacy and selfimage. Although, the analysis shows a number of verdicts, of which a brief review has been included, that contain contradictions or ambiguities on applying such doctrines.