12 LINGENS v. AUSTRIA JUGDMENT 36. As regards the first two points, the Court agrees with the Commission and the Government that the conviction in question was indisputably based on Article 111 of the Austrian Criminal Code (see paragraph 21 above); it was moreover designed to protect "the reputation or rights of others" and there is no reason to suppose that it had any other purpose (see Article 18 of the Convention) (art. 18). The conviction was accordingly "prescribed by law" and had a legitimate aim under Article 10 para. 2 (art. 10-2) of the Convention. 37. In their respective submissions the Commission, the Government and the applicant concentrated on the question whether the interference was "necessary in a democratic society" for achieving the above-mentioned aim. The applicant invoked his role as a political journalist in a pluralist society; as such he considered that he had a duty to express his views on Mr. Kreisky’s condemnations of Mr. Wiesenthal (see paragraph 10 above). He also considered - as did the Commission - that a politician who was himself accustomed to attacking his opponents had to expect fiercer criticism than other people. The Government submitted that freedom of expression could not prevent national courts from exercising their discretion and taking decisions necessary in their judgment to ensure that political debate did not degenerate into personal insult. It was claimed that some of the expressions used by Mr. Lingens (see paragraphs 12 and 15 above) overstepped the limits. Furthermore, the applicant had been able to make his views known to the public without any prior censorship; the penalty subsequently imposed on him was therefore not disproportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. Moreover, the Government asserted that in the instant case there was a conflict between two rights secured in the Convention - freedom of expression (Article 10) (art. 10) and the right to respect for private life (Article 8) (art. 8). The fairly broad interpretation the Commission had adopted of the first of these rights did not, it was said, make sufficient allowance for the need to safeguard the second right. 38. On this latter point the Court notes that the words held against Mr. Lingens related to certain public condemnations of Mr. Wiesenthal by Mr. Kreisky (see paragraph 10 above) and to the latter’s attitude as a politician towards National Socialism and former Nazis (see paragraph 14 above). There is accordingly no need in this instance to read Article 10 (art. 10) in the light of Article 8 (art. 8). 39. The adjective "necessary", within the meaning of Article 10 para. 2 (art. 10-2), implies the existence of a "pressing social need" (see the abovementioned Barthold judgment, Series A no. 90, pp. 24-25, para. 55). The Contracting States have a certain margin of appreciation in assessing whether such a need exists (ibid.), but it goes hand in hand with a European supervision, embracing both the legislation and the decisions applying it, even those given by an independent court (see the Sunday Times judgment