Princess Caroline's case against paparazzi at Human Rights Court

Oct 13, 2010, 13:45 GMT

Paris - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) began hearing Wednesday a complaint by Princess Caroline of Monaco over publication of photos of her and her husband on holiday.

The daughter of the late Prince Rainier III and her husband, Prince Ernst August von Hannover, have been involved in a long legal battle to halt the publication of photos taken without their consent.

In 2004, the ECHR overturned two judgments by German courts which had dismissed Caroline's claims. The Strasbourg court ruled that the photographs, and the court decisions, infringed on Caroline's right to respect for her private life.

The present case concerns a photo which appeared in February 2002 in the German magazines Frau im Spiegel and Frau Aktuell. It showed the couple taking a walk during their skiing holiday in the Swiss resort of St Moritz and was accompanied by an article reporting on Rainier's poor health.

German courts had again dismissed Caroline's claims, ruling that Rainier's poor health was a subject of general interest and that the press was entitled to report on how his children reconciled their familial duties with the needs of their private lives, which included the desire to go on holiday.

A decision is not expected for several months. Neither Caroline nor her husband were present at the hearing.