MORICE v. FRANCE JUDGMENT 47 serious attack on the honour and reputation of Judge M. and the public prosecutor of Djibouti (see paragraph 47 above). 165. As to the question of personal animosity on the part of the applicant towards Judge M., on account of conflicts in the context of the Borrel and “Scientology” cases, the Court takes the view that this aspect was insufficiently relevant and serious to warrant the applicant’s conviction. In any event, since the courts acknowledged the existence of conflicts between the two protagonists, and in view of the particular circumstances of the present case, such a reproach of personal animosity could have been made as much to Judge M. as to the applicant (see, mutatis mutandis, Paturel, cited above, § 45), especially as before filing a complaint against the applicant for complicity in defamation Judge M. had already unsuccessfully filed a complaint against him for false accusation (see paragraph 35 above). The Court of Appeal’s reliance on the applicant’s personal animosity is also at least undermined, if not contradicted, by other factors. Firstly, the remark concerning “conduct which [was] completely at odds with the principles of impartiality and fairness” was directed not only at Judge M., but also at Judge L.L., in respect of whom the applicant was not accused of showing any personal animosity. Furthermore, while the proceedings against the applicant concerned the above-cited extract from the letter to the Minister of Justice, that letter had in reality been signed and sent by two lawyers, the applicant and his colleague, Mr L. de Caunes. In the case of the latter, however, not only has he not been prosecuted for remarks that were attributable as much to him as to the applicant, he has not been accused of showing any animosity towards Judge M. or Judge L.L. 166. In conclusion, the Court considers that the applicant’s statements could not be reduced to the mere expression of personal animosity, that is to say an antagonistic relationship between two individuals, the applicant and Judge M. The impugned remarks fell, in reality, within a broader context, also involving another lawyer and another judge. In the Court’s opinion, that fact is capable of supporting the idea that the remarks were not part of any personal action on the part of the applicant, out of a desire for vengeance, but rather formed part of a joint professional initiative by two lawyers, on account of facts that were new, established and capable of revealing serious shortcomings in the justice system, involving the two judges who had formerly been conducting the investigation in a case in which the two lawyers’ clients were civil parties. 167. In addition, while the applicant’s remarks certainly had a negative connotation, it should be pointed out that, notwithstanding their somewhat hostile nature (see E.K. v. Turkey, cited above, §§ 79-80) and seriousness (see Thoma, cited above), the key question in the statements concerned the functioning of a judicial investigation, which was a matter of public interest, thus leaving little room for restrictions on freedom of expression. In addition, a lawyer should be able to draw the public’s attention to potential