42 MORICE v. FRANCE JUDGMENT whether it was proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued and whether the grounds given by the domestic courts were relevant and sufficient. 145. The Court notes that, in convicting the applicant, the Court of Appeal took the view that to say that an investigating judge had shown “conduct which [was] completely at odds with the principles of impartiality and fairness” was in itself a particularly defamatory accusation (see paragraph 47 above). That court added that the applicant’s comments concerning the delay in forwarding the video-cassette and his reference to the handwritten card from the public prosecutor of Djibouti to Judge M., in respect of which the applicant had used the term “connivance”, merely confirmed the defamatory nature of the accusation (ibid.), the “veracity” of the allegations not having been established (see paragraph 48 above) and the applicant’s defence of good faith being rejected (see paragraph 49 above). (a) The applicant’s status as a lawyer 146. The Court observes, firstly, that the remarks in question stemmed both from statements made at the request of the journalist who wrote the article and from the letter to the Minister of Justice. The remarks were made by the applicant in his capacity as a lawyer acting for the civil party and concerned matters relating to the proceedings in the Borrel case. 147. In this connection the Court notes at the outset that the applicant has invited it to clarify its case-law concerning the exercise of freedom of expression by a lawyer, particularly outside the courtroom, and to afford the greatest possible protection to comments by lawyers (see paragraphs 96, 97 and 102 above). The Government, for their part, while taking the view that their status as officers of the court fundamentally distinguished lawyers from journalists (see paragraph 106 above), identified various situations in which freedom of expression would be “particularly broad”, “wide”, or, on the contrary, subject to “certain limits” (see paragraph 107 above). 148. The Court would refer the parties to the principles set out in its case-law, particularly with regard to the status and freedom of expression of lawyers (see paragraphs 132-39 above), with emphasis on the need to distinguish between remarks made by lawyers inside and outside the courtroom. Moreover, in view of the specific status of lawyers and their position in the administration of justice (see paragraph 132 above), the Court takes the view, contrary to the argument of the CCBE (see paragraph 116 above), that lawyers cannot be equated with journalists. Their respective positions and roles in judicial proceedings are intrinsically different. Journalists have the task of imparting, in conformity with their duties and responsibilities, information and ideas on all matters of public interest, including those relating to the administration of justice. Lawyers, for their part, are protagonists in the justice system, directly involved in its functioning and in the defence of a party. They cannot therefore be equated with an external witness whose task it is to inform the public.