P. v. Poland, N. 56310/15, ECtHR (First Section), 13 February 2025

Dismissal of a school teacher and online free speech. 

Art. 10 ECHR 
Art. 8 ECHR 

1. It is unlawful to dismiss a teacher who published some erotic content on a website reserved for adults only. The plaintiff had not actively engaged in transmitting allegedly immoral content to students. 

2. The appellant's conduct did not constitute an intrusion into educational policies or parents' choices regarding ethics or sexuality, in advising their children or guiding them along a path in line with their religious or philosophical beliefs. 

3. The status of a teacher of religion or ethics, or a teacher employed in a religiously oriented school, may require fidelity to a singular view of morality or create a special bond of trust between teachers of religion and their students, characterised by certain specific features that extend to the teachers' private conduct and lifestyle. 

(The claimant, a secondary school teacher, had been dismissed for publishing under a false name some posts with erotic content on a website reserved exclusively for adults)