Freedom of speech & expression is primary to the survival of democratic system and the respect of human distinction – Discuss

Introduction

Speech is God’s gift to humanity. Through speech, a human being expresses his thoughts, emotions and feeling to others. Freedom of speech and expression is thus a usual right, which a human being obtains on birth[1]. Freedom of speech and expression is collectively acknowledged as one of the most important freedoms in nearly all modern progressive nations. Several international principles and declarations assure these rights. However, the rights are not classified. State can enforce restriction on these rights. The limits may be in the form of prior control or may be after the publication of words or expression[2]. The significance of free speech as an essential and valuable feature of western society cannot be underrated. As well as highlighting the value of free speech, it is projected to make an assessment of some of the conventional restrictions on what may be liberally said or published, such as the offense laws, contempt of court, national security and so on. The approach is one that makes the case free speech, since the world is now places where people’s unfettered freedoms are largely in withdraw[3]. Democratic societies by characterization are participatory and deliberative. They are planned to work best when their spokesperson congresses conduct informed reflection after voters voice their judgment about particular issues or arguments[4].

Freedom of Speech and Expression:

Freedom of expression is one of the most elementary rights that persons enjoy. It is primary to the survival of democratic system and the respect of human distinction. It is also one of the most risky rights, because freedom of expression means the liberty to express one is unhappiness with the status quo and the wish to change it. As such, it is one of the most endangered rights, with governments and even human rights groups all over the world continuously trying to restrain it[5]. The matter of free speech is one of the most controversial issues in liberal societies. If the freedom to express one is not greatly valued, as has frequently been the case, there is no difficulty: freedom of expression is just shortened in favor of other values. Free speech becomes an unstable matter when it is highly valued because only then do the confines placed upon it become contentious[6]. The First adjustment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “Congress shall make no law editing the freedom of speech.” The rights confined under the First adjustment are among the freedoms most appreciated by Americans. Democratic societies by description are participatory and deliberative. They are intended to work best when their delegate assemblies demeanor informed reflection after voters voice their opinions about meticulous issues or controversies. However, neither elected legislature nor their constituents can fully release their democratic responsibilities if they are prohibited from freely exchanging their thoughts, theories, doubts, beliefs, and dreams, or are stalled from gaining access to applicable facts, data, or other kinds of functional information upon which to form their opinions[7]. Does Cohen stand for the proposal that we can freely express ourselves in any technique we like at any time[8]?

In what extent and how the right can be restricted:

Freedom of speech is possibly one of the most badly treated freedoms we have. From blasphemy to nudity these moral destroyers are tolerable and confined, and yet the freedoms related with faith are met with contempt, and attempts to hold back those of faith are gaining impetus. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression does not give a person the right to do things that are disadvantageous to the humanity as a whole. When people have a problem performing themselves in a proper manner, they have to be reined in. Bank robbers could be analyzed as operating their freedom of expression, because they are expressing their wish to take currency that does not belong to them. Rapists could be analyzed as just satisfying their needs. Therefore, you see, there has to be a constraint on freedom of expression[9]. When a scholar was asked to describe “Freedom of speech and freedom of expression”, he said, “Stretch your arm to full length and where it ends, the limit of your freedom ends”[10]. The First adjustment to the foundation was to the stipulation to Art. 19(1)(a), namely Art. 19(2), and after the amendment, the stipulation read as follows, Art. 19(2) “Nothing in sub-clause (a) of section 1 shall involve the process of, any accessible law insofar as such law imposes rational restrictions on the exercise of the right granted by the sub clause in the wellbeing of the safety of the state, friendly associations with foreign states, public order, politeness, or ethics or in relation to disdain of court, offense, or provocation to an offence”. The three important additions brought about by the amendment were: a) Addition of the expression ‘reasonable’ before ‘restrictions’, b) Addition of ‘friendly associations with foreign states’ as one of the view for restricting liberty of speech and phrase, and finally, c) The adding up of ‘public order’[11]. Unfortunately, at paragraph 13[ii] “reasonable restrictions” on three bases namely, the addition of the phrase “reasonable restriction” would derogate from the power of the government since the government should be the sole authority of the rationality of legislation that seeks to limit free speech.  Therefore, such a state of relationships would create doubts since all legislation purporting to confine free speech would be open to confront in a court of law; and such a status of relationships will lead to stress and conflict between the government and the judges[12]. If limitations on speech are tolerated, society averts the ascertainment and publication of truthful facts and valuable opinion. That is to say, it supports in the detection of truth[13]. While one may oppose with the court’s approach towards distasteful, shocking and alarming ideas no one, distrust that freedom of expression stands as one of the basis of a democratic society[14]. Certainly, the restriction of creativity, of ideas, is not new. The experience of many centuries shows that censors and their objects are extremely miscellaneous. There is the restriction imposed by spiritual organizations, such as that demonstrated by the different popes who sought to decrease or remove the extravagance those they supposed in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment’.  The political guideline of creative freedom is equally easy to point out[15]. Professors Lemley and Volokh argue the similar rule should be relevant to preliminary commands in many patent, trademark, and right of exposure and trade secret cases. They note that academic property rights, not like other property rights, are a form of content based, administration forced speech restriction. The simple fact that the constraint is denominated a “property right” should not excused it from conservative First Amendment inspection, or justify administration action that limits speech which eventually shows to be constitutionally confined[16]. The development of principles for freedom of expression in democratic system has tended toward the extension of freedom and the reduction of restrictions on the media. In the United States, U.S. Supreme Court decisions have imitated this tendency. Usually, slander and national security laws were ordinary justifications for restricting speech. While each area had lawful claims for limiting words, they were also simply abused[17]. Restrictions on speech in a civic forum also may be supported if the communicative activity being synchronized is of a type that is not allowed to full First Amendment defense, such as Obscenity. Laws that control the time, mode, and place, but not content, of speech in a public forum obtain less scrutiny by the Court than do laws that confine the content of phrase. These so-called content-neutral laws are allowed if they serve an important government attention and allow plenty alternative channels of communication. It is not required that a content-neutral law be the least restraining alternative, but only that the government’s attention would be achieved less efficiently without it[18]. The rule restricts the freedom of expression in two important ways: (i) the act of obscenity, and (ii) the act of offense. Because such restrictions are adversative to the creative freedom so significant to art, they are both materials that should be of great anxiety to artists. The law of obscenity is not automatically multifaceted, but it is so indistinct and doubtful that its restraining power is massive. Because of legislative differences, it is necessary to deal unconnectedly with each State. In contrast, offense is an area of massive legal difficulty and few lawyers are specialist in its particulars[19]. The freedom to communicate information can come under assault in a variety of ways and mostly impose on the freedom of the press. Pressure on reporters poses a very important threat. Informal censorship refers to a diversity of actions by public officials ranging from telephone calls and threats to physical attacks – intended to avoid or chastise the publication of serious material.[20] While the explore for truth has allowed tolerance for unpleasant and worrying ideas, lying under oath and false publicity are penalized. There may be limitations on the ‘time, method and place’ of phrase. The sovereignty argument similarly permits limitations in the interests of the independence of others, and ‘the self-governing rationale can permit limitations in the cause of preserving a democracy’[21]. Limitations can be forced on either of the rights as long as the pith and matter of those restrictions fall within the own restrictions set out by Article 19 and the constraint does not severely breach upon the other liberty right. The State is allowed to impose constraint on the liberty of Press in the interest of the universal public since the freedom of the press is escorted by the public right to be sophisticated and informed[22]. Recognizing that the exercise of liberty of expression may be subject to imperfect restrictions that are agreed by law and are essential[23]. The right to remark on the administration of fairness shall not be focus to any special restrictions[24].

 Conclusion:

Freedom of information, speech and the press is resolutely entrenched in the arrangements of contemporary western self-governing thought.  With limited limitations, every industrialist democracy has legal requirements defending these rights.  Even the UN statement of Human Rights, accepted by the general congregation in 1948 states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of judgment and expression. This right includes liberty to hold estimations without intrusion and to seek, accept and impart information and ideas during any media and in spite of frontiers” (although as Article 19, it comes subsequent to the right to hold property, be married and hold a nationality, among others).  As such, western ethics greatly favor the nearly tolerant rights to speech, press and information.  Such rights might be modified to defend state safety from a Lockesian social agreement perspective, but a Kantian categorical viewpoint surely provides for a culture in which everybody can speak freely is better to one in which no one can speak freely[25].

References:

Akbtar, N. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://www.slideshare.net/mf23/freedom-of-speech-and-expression-vis-vis-censorship

 BARI, D. A. (n.d.). Freedom of Speech and Expression in Malaysia. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://anwarite.tripod.com/freespeech.html

Cooray, D. M. (1997). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap6.htm#6.1

 Grogan, K. (n.d.). Freedom of speech and expression . . . most abused rights. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/grogan/051129

LIANG, L. (2004). Reasonable Restrictions and Unreasonable Speech.

Milton, J. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.indialawjournal.com/volume3/issue_4/article_by_dheerajendra.html

 Potter, S. S. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.collectionslaw.com.au/chapter-25-restrictions-on-freedom-of-expression

Singhi, S. (n.d.). FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION. Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://www.goforthelaw.com/articles/fromlawstu/article16.htm

 Solicitors, S. (2000 ). Restrictions on the Freedom of Expression. Australia: Sydney NSW .

 Tangata, M. k. Human Rights in New Zealand Today.

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/free-speech-freedom-expression

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/speech/

  (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freedom-speech/

(n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://civilrights.uslegal.com/freedom-of-speech-and-expression/

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/FreedomOfExpression/FreedomOfExpression.asp

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://springofautumn.blogspot.com/2011/05/freedom-of-speech-and-expression.html

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://knol.google.com/k/freedom-of-speech-in-malaysia#

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.democracyweb.org/expression/history.php

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Freedom+of+Speech

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=408

 (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://legalsutra.org/1329/bennett-coleman-v-union-of-india-crtique/

(n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://tasz.hu/en/freedom-of-speech/joint-declaration-freedom-expression-internet-video

(n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://presscouncil.nic.in/speechpdf/speech6.htm

(n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/cs201/projects/communism-computing-china/censorship.html


[1] See Singhi, S. (n.d.). FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION. Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://www.goforthelaw.com/articles/fromlawstu/article16.htm

[2] See Akbtar, N. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2011, from http://www.slideshare.net/mf23/freedom-of-speech-and-expression-vis-vis-censorship

[3] See Cooray, D. M. (1997). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.ourcivilisation.com/cooray/rights/chap6.htm#6.1

[4] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/free-speech-freedom-expression

[5] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/speech/

[6] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freedom-speech/

[7] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://civilrights.uslegal.com/freedom-of-speech-and-expression/

[8] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/FreedomOfExpression/FreedomOfExpression.asp

 [9] See Grogan, K. (n.d.). Freedom of speech and expression . . . most abused rights. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/grogan/051129

 [10] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://springofautumn.blogspot.com/2011/05/freedom-of-speech-and-expression.html

 [11] See LIANG, L. (2004). Reasonable Restrictions and Unreasonable Speech.

 [12] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://knol.google.com/k/freedom-of-speech-in-malaysia#

[13] See Milton, J. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.indialawjournal.com/volume3/issue_4/article_by_dheerajendra.html

[14]  See BARI, D. A. (n.d.). Freedom of Speech and Expression in Malaysia. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://anwarite.tripod.com/freespeech.html

[15] See Potter, S. S. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.collectionslaw.com.au/chapter-25-restrictions-on-freedom-of-expression

[16] See VOLOKH, M. A. (n.d.). FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND INJUNCTIONS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CASES. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www2.law.ucla.edu/volokh/copyinj.htm

 [17] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.democracyweb.org/expression/history.php

 [18] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Freedom+of+Speech

 [19] See Solicitors, S. (2000 ). Restrictions on the Freedom of Expression. Australia: Sydney NSW .

 [20] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.hrea.org/index.php?doc_id=408

 [21] See Tangata, M. k. Human Rights in New Zealand Today.

 [22] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://legalsutra.org/1329/bennett-coleman-v-union-of-india-crtique/

 [23] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://tasz.hu/en/freedom-of-speech/joint-declaration-freedom-expression-internet-video

 [24] See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://presscouncil.nic.in/speechpdf/speech6.htm

[25]See (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~eroberts/cs201/projects/communism-computing-china/censorship.html