case (see Editions Plon v. France, No. 58148/00, § 42, ECHR 2004-IV; Association Ekin v. France, No. 39288/98, § 56, ECHR 2001-VIII; and Observer and Guardian, cited above, § 60). As the freedom of the press was at stake, the Russian authorities had only a limited margin of appreciation to decide whether there was a "pressing social need" to take the measures in question (see Editions Plon, cited above, § 44).
23. On the facts, the Court observes that two civil procedures were simultaneously pending. Both had been instituted by Judge Baskova. The first one concerned her civil claim for damages against Mr P. in connection with the traffic accident. In the second proceedings Judge Baskova sued the newspaper, the applicant and Ms P. for defamation in connection with the article relating the circumstances of the accident and the institution of the proceedings for damages. The interim injunction complained about was issued in the framework of the second proceedings but prohibited the press coverage of the first set of proceedings or the accident itself. The injunction remained effective throughout the entire duration of the defamation proceedings.
24. The Court reiterates that the test as to whether the impugned measure was "necessary in a democratic society" involves showing that the action taken was in pursuit of the legitimate aim, and that the interference with the rights protected was no greater than was necessary to achieve it (see Bartik v. Russia, No. 55565/00, § 46, ECHR 2006-...).
25. Although the domestic courts have held the prohibition to be justified as a means of protecting the reputation of others and maintaining the authority of the judiciary, the reasons given by way of justification do not appear sufficient to the Court. It will now examine in turn the two prongs of the injunction, one relating to the prohibition to publish information on the road accident and the other enjoining publications on the civil claim for damages.
26. As regards the prohibition on information about the factual circumstances of the traffic accident in which Mrs Baskova had been involved, the Court notes at the outset that the applicant did not put forward any specific version of the incident as the true or the only possible one but rather presented several possible sequences of events as related by Mr and Ms P., by Mrs Baskova in her statement of claim, by the traffic police and by eyewitnesses. Not one of these versions was contested as untrue or inaccurate in the defamation proceedings, the scope of which was limited to the statement about Judge Baskova's connections in the judiciary (see paragraph 9 above). In issuing the injunction in the defamation proceedings, the District Court merely referred to the fact that a technical study had been commissioned, without explaining why it considered that further research into, or publications on, the factual circumstances of the road accident would be prejudicial for the outcome of the proceedings. Moreover, since Mrs Baskova was involved in the accident as a private person, the Court finds that the injunction on further publications about the accident could not have been relevant for the purpose of maintaining the authority of the judiciary.
27. As regards the prohibition on reporting on the pending claim for damages, the Court accepts that the allegation contained in Ms P.'s letter - that Judge Baskova had taken advantage of her office and connections in the judiciary - could indeed be damaging to Judge Baskova's reputation and to the authority of the judicial system. Nevertheless, although the injunction corresponded to the legitimate aim it sought to achieve, in the Court's view, its scope was excessively broad and disproportionate to that aim. It must be noted that the Russian legal system has no equivalent of the sub judice rule and the right to report on proceedings in open court is not in principle restricted. The G
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