0:11
What I want to do now, is look at the basic structure of a right.
And I'm going to again through really
pressures of time, just look at article ten.
In other words, I'm concerned with the, the, the wording of this article.
How we can understand the scope of article ten, in other
words, the freedom of expression, one of the classic civil liberties.
So let's first all look at the wording of the convention rights.
It's got two paragraphs and I'm going to read
these two paragraphs to you and then I'm going
to analyze the rights that are so contained or
indeed the limitation of these rights, so paragraph one.
0:47
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.
The article should not prevent states from acquiring
the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
Paragraph two: 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
interest 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
or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.
Okay, let's think a little bit about those two paragraphs.
1:48
Go back to the first paragraph, statement of the rights.
Everybody has the right to freedom of expression.
We then have the amplification of this idea, IE, what the right includes.
2:00
The right, this right shall include the freedom to hold opinions and to receive
and impart information on ideas without interference
by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
It's the positive statement of the right.
That's what allows us to do.
But, then note the following, the
third sentence in the first paragraph,this article
shall not percent states from requiring the
licensing of broadcasting television or similar enterprises.
In other words, the right to freedom of expression is entirely coherent with the
state's power to require the licensing of
certain forms of disseminating information, or indeed entertainment.
2:43
What we have in paragraph one is primarily the positive statements of the right.
What we then have in paragraph two is
a statement of the limitations of that right.
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.
Let's just hold the claws there.
These freedoms, the right to freedom of
expression, carry with them duties and responsibilities.
Because of that, they need be subject to various limitations.
Which are outlined as formalities, conditions, and restrictions
or penalties, but note these restrictions on the right
are themselves limited by law and the extent
to which they are necessary in a Democratic society.
So any limitation on a right has to be checked against that statement.
Now, the, if we bring these various ideas
together, it would seem that a state can limit
a right, but any limit that a state places on a right itself has to be justified.
And has to be justified from the perspective of, well, democracy.
But not just democracy, other issues are brought into focus here.
4:04
Limits on rights are also possible in interest of national
security, territorial integrity or public safety et cetera, et cetera.
In other words, one of the interesting thing and,
things in the law of human rights is the
extent to which, A, we have the right and
B, the extent to which that right can be limited.
Now, there are different ways of looking at this, but one of
the interesting ways is saying that
a right correlates with duties and responsibilities.
In order for that right to be, if you like, exercised
in a responsible way, we have to understand the functioning of
that right within this democratic context, where limitations on the right,
in this case the right to freedom of expression, may be legitimate.
Professor Adam GeareyProfessor of Law
