Protection of freedom of expression in view of The U.N. Human Rights Committee’s General Comments No. 34

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze legal guarantees of freedom of expression provided for in The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) from the perspective of The U.N. Human Rights Committee’s (HRC) General Comments No. 34. The study is focused mainly on the HRC’s interpretations concerning regulations of the article 19 of ICCPR, which consists general direct provisions of this freedom and its general indirect limitations, and also the HRC’s comments on the article 20 of ICCPR, which is related to different forms of hate speech. Firstly, the analysis shows HRC’s general description of elements of freedom of expression, i.e. the right to hold opinions and freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, but also of the principle of rights and freedoms limitations’ proportionality. It also concerns HRC’s comments on the specific forms and contexts of freedom of expression, mainly about freedom of press and media, crimes of defamation, public insult of head of state and constitutional authorities or public officials and also crimes of religious offence and some forms of hate speech. Moreover, there was indicated HRC’s stand on the matter of imprisonment penalty as a legal sanction for misuse of freedom of expression.