European Court of Human Rights, Case of Halet v. Luxembourg

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered an important judgment in a case involving Raphaël Halet and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In the “Luxleaks” case, this employee handed over to a journalist fourteen tax returns submitted by multinational companies and two covering letters. After being dismissed by PwC, he was ordered to pay a fine of 1,000 euros for disclosing confidential information. The European Court is striking a balance between the prejudicial effects on the employer and the outcome of the disclosure. It notes that the disclosure has “made an essential contribution” to sparking the “public debate on the tax practices of multinational companies, at both national and European level”. The nature “of the penalties imposed and the seriousness of the effects of accumulating them, in particular their chilling effect on the freedom of expression of the applicant or any other whistle-blower (…) cannot be regarded as proportionate in the light of the legitimate aim pursued”. Interference in the whistle-blower’s right to freedom of expression, and in particular his freedom to impart information, was not “necessary in a democratic society” (see the Court’s Legal summary and press release).