Transcript Hate speech in European Court of Human Rights

Freedom of Speech and its Limits
in Law
The freedom of expression
and its limits in the international law
Part 1
dr Michał Urbańczyk
[email protected]
Katedra Doktryn Polityczno-Prawnych i Filozofii
WPiA UAM Poznań
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The freedom of
expression as a natural
right of every human
being is an object of
regulations of
international law, which
developed particularly
after World War II
alongside the
establishment and
evolution of the United
Nations.
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gacy:y&lang=en&sf=arrival_date
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Previous efforts to
establish fixed rules
on the
international level
had proved futile
due to the
weakness of the
UN predecessor,
the League of
Nations.
http://totallyhistory.com/league-of-nations/
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/8/8/1/2/8812142/283566269.jpg
http://www.leagueofnationshistory.org/resources.shtml

Human rights are treated as universal and
basic rights, to which every individual is
entitled to in their contacts with the state.

Their original source is human dignity
which is inalienable and independent
of the existence of a state and a
commonwealth of citizens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations#/media/File:United_Nations_Memb
er_States-1945.png
The UN in 1945. In light blue, the founding
members. In dark blue, protectorates and
colonies of the founding members.

Every state is obliged to respect them with
relation to their own citizens, citizens of other
states, as well as people who have no citizenship
but reside on their territory.

Human rights are therefore independent of
citizenship (they can be enjoyed by stateless
persons under the jurisdiction of a particular state).
http://www.un.org/en/sections/aboutun/funds-programmes-specializedagencies-and-others/index.html

Nowadays, the system of
protection of human rights
consists of a range of acts of
international law, passed by the
UN and its specialised units.

Moreover, conventions are passed
which are aimed at regulating the
question of human rights on the
regional level.
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for example:
 The African Charter on
Human and Peoples' Rights
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er_on_Human_and_Peoples%27_Rights
#/media/File:Map_of_the_African_Union
_with_Suspended_States.svg
2009 African Union member states in dark
green, and the states with (former)
suspended membership in light green
Seal of Organization of American States (OAS)
the OAS Charter,
 the American
Declaration of the
Rights and Duties of
Man,
 the American
Convention on
Human Rights,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States#/media/File:Sea
l_of_the_Organization_of_American_States.svg

There is no one Asian-wide organisation or
convention to promote or protect human
rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia#/media/File:Asia_%28orth
ographic_projection%29.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe#/media/File:Council_of_Europe
_logo_%282013_revised_version%29.png

The European
Convention on
Human Rights

the Charter of
Fundamental Rights
of the European
Union.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union#/media/File:Flag_of_Europe.svg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe#/media/File:Council_of_europe
_map.svg
http://www.dannielleblumenthal.com/2015/03/do-government-employees-have-freedom-of.html

The freedom of expression takes one of the
central places in this regional systems.

It is important that within this systems, in the
aforementioned acts, there are different regulations
which deal directly with the freedom of speech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations#/media/File:United_Nations_Members.svg
Map showing the member states of the United Nations

What should be emphasised is that one of the
most significant achievements of the UN is
its universalism - aiming at the inclusion of
all the states.
The rights and freedoms are also defined as
universal:
 every individual is entitled to them because they
are human (the subject aspect);
 they are not dependent on the civilizational
area, where the individual lives (the territorial
aspect);
 they last alongside the development of societies
and nations (the temporal aspect).

the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights

passed during the 3rd
session of the UN General
Assembly on 10th
December 1948 in Paris.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations#/media/File:Chile_signs_UN_Chart
er_1945.jpg

The Declaration strongly emphasises the
rights and freedoms regarding every
person, everywhere and in all
conditions (the universality principle)
and assumes that they are inseparable (i.e.
the personal and political rights on the one
hand and social, economic and cultural rights
on the other, require the same protection
and are interdependent).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Article 19
Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and
expression; this right
includes freedom to
hold opinions without
interference and to seek,
receive and impart
information and ideas
through any media and
regardless of frontiers.

http://digitalpostercollection.com/?attachment_id=57486
Article 27 should also
remain within the
scope of the research
question as it states
that every man has a
right to participate
in the scientific
progress.
Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in
the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the
arts and to share in scientific advancement and
its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the
moral and material interests resulting from any
scientific, literary or artistic production of which
he is the author.

However, this provision cannot be
interpreted separately from other
regulations of the Declaration, which
define its limits as well as the limits of
other freedoms included therein.
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Article 29
1. Everyone has
duties to the
community in which
alone the free and full
development of his
personality is possible.
http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/udhr/article_29.html
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms,
everyone shall be subject only to such
limitations as are determined by law solely for
the purpose of securing due recognition and
respect for the rights and freedoms of
others and of meeting the just
requirements of morality, public order and
the general welfare in a democratic
society.
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3. These rights and
freedoms may in no case
be exercised contrary
to the purposes and
principles of the United
Nations.
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014/02/19/ukraine-2-19-1.jpg?itok=UWGcHhP9
Bearing all this in mind, the following limits to the
freedom of speech can be indicated:

the use of the freedom of expression must include
the obligations which an individual has towards
the society, in which they live,

the protection of values such as morality, public
order, universal democratic wellbeing,

the freedom of expression cannot infringe upon
the objectives and principles of the United
Nations.
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hrap.net/en/w
pcontent/uploa
ds/Internation
al-Covenanton-EconomicSocial-andCulturalRights.jpg
Since the Declaration
is not an act of the
international law,
the work on other
legal acts was initiated
following its
enactment.
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These were passed in 1966 and include:

International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights,

International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights.
Alongside the Declaration and the two Optional
Protocols (on establishing the right to submit
individual petitions (1966) and on the abolition of
the death penalty (1989)) they form the so-called
International Bill of Human Rights.

International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights was passed during the
UN conference in New York in 1966.

It dealt with the basic human rights
and freedoms and the obligation of
the State towards its citizens.

Unlike the Declaration it is legally
binding.

Article 19 of the Covenant is directly
concerned with the freedom of
expression.
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Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold
opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom
of expression; this right shall include
freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds,
regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing
or in print, in the form of art, or through
any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in
paragraph 2 of this article carries with it
special duties and responsibilities. It may
therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but
these shall only be such as are provided by law
and are necessary:
a) for respect of the rights or reputations
of others;
b) for the protection of national security
or of public order (ordre public), or of
public health or morals.
As a result, the freedom of expression may
eventually be subject to some limitations, which
has to be introduced by means of an act of
parliament (not any legal act of lower rank) and
have the attribute of necessity in order to:

respect the rights and good name of others,

protect national security or public order, or public
health or morality.
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
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Apart from these
formal limitations,
the Covenant
envisages
limitations to
the freedom of
speech with
respect to the
content.
Article 20 of the Covenant states that any
war propaganda should be prohibited
by law.
 Also, any support for national, racial or
religious hatred which constitutes an
incitement to discrimination, hostility or
rape should also be legally prohibited.
 As a result the Covenant indicated what
statements do not enjoy the right of
distribution.


Similar provisions are included in the
International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination.
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http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cerd/cerd.html

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Poster.jpg
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1/01/nazi-propaganda-poster-duringwar.jpg
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jpg
Article 4 states that the
states-parties to the
Convention condemn
every propaganda
based on the ideas or
theories of the
supremacy of one
race or group of people
of a certain skin colour
or ethnic origin, or
theories which try to
justify or support the
racial hatred and
discrimination in any
form.



Alongside the universal system of human rights
protection, other regional systems have also been
formed by, i.e:
the Council of Europe,
the Organisation of American States,
the Organisation of African Unity.
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The foundations of the European system of
human rights were laid by the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedomfrom 1950.
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Article 10 – Freedom of expression
Everyone has the right to freedom of
expression.
This right shall include freedom to hold opinions
and to receive and impart information and
ideas without interference by public authority and
regardless of frontiers.
This article shall not prevent States from requiring
the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema
enterprises.
The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it
duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such
formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are
prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic
society, in the interests of:
 national security,
 territorial integrity or public safety,
 for the prevention of disorder or crime,
 for the protection of health or morals,
 for the protection of the reputation or rights of
others,
 for preventing the disclosure of information
received in confidence,
 for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the
judiciary.


The Strasbourg organs see the complexity of
complaints concerning the infringements of
Article 10 since in the European system one
should not look for the protection of the
freedom of opinions threatening the essence
of the democratic society.
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Article 17 – Prohibition of
abuse of rights
Nothing in this Convention may
be interpreted as implying for any
State, group or person any right
to engage in any activity or
perform any act aimed at the
destruction of any of the
rights and freedoms set forth
herein or at their limitation to a
greater extent than is provided for
in the Convention.
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The end