Judgment postponed in Scientology vs. XS4ALL court case

The Supreme Court has today postponed its judgment in the case between the Church of Scientology and XS4ALL, Karin Spaink and 20 other parties. This case has now dragged on for 10 years. The postponement follows a last-minute attempt by the Church of Scientology to withdraw its cassation appeal, a move which has been vigorously opposed by XS4ALL and Karin Spaink.

The case has been referred to the cause-list session of 12 August 2005, when a date will be set for the Procurator General to give an opinion to the Supreme Court on the withdrawal request. After this opinion has been given, the Supreme Court will issue its final judgment.

XS4ALL trusts that the Supreme Court recognises that copyright must not be abused to undermine freedom of speech. After all, in the opinion issued on 18 March of this year, the Advocate General stated that copyright was not exempt from being tested against the right to freedom of speech. He also said that from the copyright point of view there was nothing wrong with the quotations from works of the Scientology sect on Karin Spaink’s homepage.

Scientology’s abuse of the law

The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win. The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.
– L. Ron Hubbard, A Manual on the Dissemination of Material, 1955 (See: The Purpose of a Lawsuit is to Harass)

Withdrawing at the last minute from court action which it has brought is in line with the Scientology strategy. XS4ALL hopes that the Supreme Court will not accept such tactics.