In Defence of Offence: Freedom of Expression, Offensive Speech and, the Approach of the European Court of Human Rights

AuthorAoife O'Reilly
PositionLLB (Law and Political Science) (Dubl), LLM (LSE), Graduate Diploma in Law (UHUD) Candidate
Pages234-260
© 2016 Aoife O’Reilly and Dublin University Law Society
IN DEFENCE OF OFFENCE:
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION,OFFENSIVE SPEECH,
AND THE APPROACH OF THE
EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
AOIFE O’REILLY*
Introduction
Thedebateonfreespeechandtherighttogiveoffencehasbeenreignited
inrecenttimes,dueinnosmallparttotwoincidentsinterpretedasegregious
attacksona mostreveredcivilliberty.Thefirst(andinhindsightmore
trivial)incidentwas a cyber-attackonSonyPictures,allegedlyinresponse
totheplannedreleaseofTheInterview, a comedyabout afictionalCIA
missiontoassassinateNorthKoreanDictatorKimJong-un.Theattackled
totheleakingofinternalemailsandupcomingmovies,withactsofviolence
threatenedifthefilmwasreleased.1Thesecondwasthekillingof12people
intheofficesofFrenchsatiricalmagazineCharlieHebdo, apparently
motivatedbyrevengeforitspublicationofcartoonssatirisingtheProphet
Mohammad.2Inbothcases,thecontentexpressedwasarguablydistasteful,
andgiventhereactiontotheDanishcartoonscandalin2005,therecanbe
nodoubtthattheFrenchpublicationoffendedMuslimsensibilities.3The
overwhelmingresponsetobothincidentswas a renewedandvigorous
supportforfreespeech.However,therighttooffensiveexpressionhas
neverbeenbeyondrestrictioninEurope,andtheEuropeanCourtofHuman
Rights(ECtHR)hasoftenbalkedattheprospectofoverturningstate
determinationsthatparticularspeechistoooffensive.
*LLB (Law and Political Science) (Dubl), LLM (LSE), Graduate Diploma inLaw(UHUD)
Candidate. The author would like to thank Dr Andrew Scott for his helpful comments on an
earlier draft of this article.
1Keith Stuart, “Sony CEO calls Interview hack the most “vicious” attack in recent history,”
The Guardian, 6 January 2015 ceo-
interview-hack-vicious-attack> (visited 1 May 2015).
2Kim Willsher, Jon Henley, Julian Borger, Sandra Laville and Helen Davidson, “Hunt for
Charlie Hebdo suspects continues in rural France” The Guardian, 9 January 2015
(visited
1 May 2015).
3 Ian Cram, “The Danish Cartoons, Offensive Expression, and Democratic Legitimacy” in Ivan
Hare and James Weinstein ed., Extreme Speech and Democracy (OUP 2009), at 311-12.
2016] In Defence of Offence
235
Thisarticleexplores a numberofissuesthatarisewithoffensivespeech,
focusingonECtHRjurisprudence.Section 1examinesthetraditional
justificationsforfreedomofexpressionandtheextenttowhichtheysupport
theprotectionofoffensivespeech.Section 2 thenmovestoinvestigatethe
approachoftheECtHRtosuchspeech,analysinginparticularthestrong
rhetoricespousedontheapparentright“toshock,offendanddisturb.”
GiventherobustprotectionaffordedbytheCourttoreligioussensitivities,
Section 3 considerswhetheritisappropriatetoinsulatereligiousfeelings
fromoffenceandprobesthecaselawinthisarea.Section 4 contemplates
themannerinwhichoffence-basedregulationprivilegesmembersofthe
majoritycultureinsociety,beforeSection 5 concludeswithanappraisalof
argumentsthatsuchregulationshouldactuallyprotectvulnerablecultural
minoritiesfrombeingsubjectedtooffensivespeech.
I. Justifications for Free Speech
Freedomofexpressionisoneofthepillarsofdemocracy,affordedan
enviablepositionon a particularlyhighpedestalwithinmanyfundamental
rightsframeworks.TheFirstAmendmenttotheUSConstitution,for
example,providesverystrongprotectionforspeech,withtheUSSupreme
Courtexplicitlystatingthatonlyspeechthat“isdirectedtoincitingor
producingimminentlawlessactionandislikelytoinciteorproducesuch
action”canbecurtailed.4TheInternationalCovenantonCivilandPolitical
Rightsalsoprovidesrobustfreespeechguarantees,accordingindividuals
thefreedom“toseek,receiveandimpartinformationandideasofall
kinds.”5Thisrightissubjectonlytorestrictionsdeemednecessarytoensure
respectfortherightsandreputationsofothersandforprotectingnational
security,publicorderandpublichealthormorals,6andwherethespeech
canbeconsideredpropagandaforwaror“advocacyofnational,racialor
religioushatredthatconstitutesincitementtodiscrimination,hostilityor
violence.”7
WhiletheEuropeanConventionpermitstherestrictionoffreespeech
underArticle10,intheoryanyinterference mustbe“convincingly
established”andbasedon“relevantandsufficient”grounds.8Freedomof
expressionenjoysrobustrespectduetoassumptionsaboutitsmanyutilities.
4Brandenburg v Ohio 395 US 444 (1969), at 448.
5 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19(2)
6 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19(3)
7 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 20
8Pedersen and Baadsgaard v Denmark (2006) 42 EHRR 24

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