Is irony appropriate on condom packaging? The European Court of Human Rights believes it is. According to the ECHR, the Georgian court that convicted Aiisa company founder Anania Gachechiladze violated the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Human Rights Convention.
The seven judges of the chamber made this decision unanimously on July 22, 2021. They also concluded that the national court’s decision was influenced by the Orthodox Church, whose authority in the country remains quite significant.
The four controversial condoms that provoked disapproval from Georgian courts
1. A cartoon smiling panda face with the text “I would masturbate but it’s Epiphany” («ჩამოვკრავდი, მაგრამ ნათლისღებაა»). The phrase was identical to the title of a music video by an anonymous group called Panda, available on YouTube.
2. An illustration of an inflated crown, seemingly made from a condom, with the text “Glorious Victory” (“ძლევაჲ საკვირველი”) below it. In historical sources and common language, this phrase was associated with a national victory — the Battle of Didgori in 1121.
3. The third condom design featured an image of “Queen Tamar“, who was canonized by the church. In the image, she looks upward, biting her lips, accompanied by the text “samepo kari tamarshi” («სამეფო კარი თამარში»). The literal meaning of the text was “Royal Court in Tamar,” which was a reference to the Georgian translation of “Game of Thrones” through wordplay.
4. An illustration showing a vertically positioned female left hand with red nail polish. A condom is stretched over the raised index and middle fingers.
Such packaging violates the moral principles of Georgian society, decided the city court and later the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. However, in European countries, as noted by the ECHR, there is no clearly defined assessment of moral issues, which in turn creates a broad field for interpretation and subsequent manipulation.
The company founder appealed the national court’s decision and won the case at the ECHR. The Court allowed the use of such advertising, as it does not consider it to discredit traditional values. Therefore, banning creative advertising, even if bold, is a violation of freedom of expression.
After analyzing literally every condom (3 out of 4 images), the ECHR noted that such a ban contradicted relevant international standards. In a pluralistic democratic society, those who choose to exercise freedom to practice their religion must tolerate and accept others’ rejection of their religious beliefs and even the spread of doctrines hostile to their faith.
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