Opinion of 20th June 201142 concerning access to IT facilities for persons in detention 1/ Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 provides that “the free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man: every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print freely, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law”.43 This right is one of particular relevance to persons held in custody in that, as indicated by the Constitutional Council, “freedom of expression and communication is all the more precious, in that exercising it is a pre-condition of democracy and one of the guarantees ensuring that other people’s rights and freedoms are observed” (Constitutional Council, decision n°2009-580 of 10th  June 2009, recital  15). It is therefore incumbent on the prison authorities to guarantee this right, subject solely to the reserves necessary to maintain security and good order in prisons, to prevent re-offending and to protect victims’ interests (as indicated by Article 22 of the Penitentiary law of 24th November 2009).44 In other words, this authority cannot impose any limitations on freedom of information other than those dictated by the requirements of security, the future of persons held in custody and the well-being of their victims. 2/ The information and communication tools of our own era include on-line services, to which the principle set forth above also applies. Again, as indicated by the Constitutional Council (in the abovementioned decision, recital 12), “having regard to the widespread development of on-line services and to the growing importance of these services in terms of participating in democratic life and expressing ideas and opinions”, the right to free communication of ideas and opinions Published in the Journal Officiel de la République française of 12th July 2011, text n°82. 43 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789: http://www.historyguide. org/intellect/declaration.html 44 French penitentiary law n°2009-1436 of 24th November 2009: http://www. legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000021312171&categorieLien =id (in French). 42 99