Having a satellite dish ‘is a human right,’ according to a ruling by the European Court of Human Right in Strasbourg.
The ruling by the Court on the right to install satellite dishes made the headlines confirming the fact under the freedom of information act. Broadband TV News is not sure why the story has hit the newspapers again, which was published by the Mail Online, as the original ruling stems from 1990.
According to the recent news item, two tenants in Sweden took their government to court after they were evicted by their landlord in a dispute over a dish. The couple installed one of the dishes on their rented property but the landlord ordered them to take it down. They refused and were later thrown out of the property.
According to the Court, the Swedish government had failed in its obligation to protect the couple’s right to receive information. It found that satellite dishes come under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The freedom to access information via a satellite dish results from a ruling by the Court on May, 22 1990 says that the “reception of foreign satellite TV channels via satellite dish or other antenna, also by for-profit legal organisations” is protected by article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The crucial first paragraph of this article is: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, this right shall include freedom to hold opinions and freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”
