Freedom of Information and Speech Racist
Ion Diaconu · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2011
International norms on human rights are protecting both the freedom of expression and the freedom of incitement of hate, discrimination or violence on grounds of race, ethnic origin or religion. But they may come into conflict, when freedom of expression is used to incite to racial hate, discrimination or violence. A balance has therefore to be observed so that freedom of expression, which is indispensable in a democratic society, be exercised without becoming a call for racial hate, violence or discrimination. Definitions of the hate speech and criteria for distinguishing it from the legitimate exercise of the freedom of expression were proposed by international organisations and by human rights bodies, including the European Courts for Human Rights; but the proper evaluation and conclusion have to be adopted for each specific case, because numerous aspects involved in each case make the situations different from each other. Some parameters can be drawn from the international practice, but they will have only an orientative function; it remains for each State and international body called to take a decision to evaluate the different aspects of each case: the author of the speech, the addressee, the purpose followed, the potential impact, essentially the context of the exercise.