The European Court of Human Rights issued a ruling today stating that Serbian lawyer Cedomir Backovic, who faced penalties in Serbia for insulting a judge, lost his case in Strasbourg.

With a vote of five in favor and two against, the Court concluded that there was no violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights, as announced by the Council of Europe.

The case centered on a monetary fine imposed on Backovic for contempt of court during a proceeding related to local elections, in which he sought recognition that he and six others remained city councilors in Sombor.

Backovic had described the decision in question as "the pinnacle of absurdity" and referred to the judges involved as "legal geniuses."

The Strasbourg Court noted that expressions used by Backovic, including "legal giants" and "legal ingenuity," demeaned the professionalism of the judges and the court itself.

The Court concluded that there were sufficient grounds for the imposition of a penalty, deeming it not disproportionate.

The judgment referenced a ruling by the District Court in Sombor on October 13, 2008, which established that Backovic and certain other councilors had completed their mandates.

However, in September 2011, Serbia's Constitutional Court ordered the Administrative Court to amend its ruling, indicating that the initial decision violated the rights of Backovic and others, a decision the Administrative Court executed in November of the same year.

Backovic sought the enforcement of this new ruling, requesting confirmation that he and his colleagues continued to be councilors.

His request was denied at the first instance, prompting him to appeal.

In his submissions, he characterized the situation as a "type of restrictive interpretation of the Law on Enforcement Procedure" and labeled the judges of the enforcement court as "legal geniuses and giants."

Furthermore, Backovic asserted that the Administrative Court's finding was a "supreme absurdity" that warranted no further commentary, questioning the intent behind the ruling and describing it as incompatible with the functioning of a professional judiciary in a state that claims to be a rule of law, as Serbia asserts it is.

Due to these statements, the first-instance judge imposed a fine of 100,000 dinars, approximately 910 euros at that time, on Backovic, considering that the nature of his comments was aimed at insulting the court.

This penalty was later reduced to 50,000 dinars.

Subsequent constitutional complaints were rejected, prompting Backovic to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.