Notwithstanding ECtHR’s commitment to freedom of expression, an extensive body of case-law reflects a growing awareness on the part of the Strasbourg Court of the need to combat hate speech in order to guarantee to all individuals the full enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Convention. To this goal, restrictions to freedom of expression may be allowed especially when vulnerable people are the target of these hateful expressions which qualify as «more than insulting» running counter the underlying values of the Convention as a whole. This paper takes disability hate speech as a case-study to examine the current ECtHR’s approach to hate speech legal regulation and its possible developments.
Addressing disability hate speech: the case for restricting freedom of expression in the light of the ECtHR’s case law
Federica Falconi
2019-01-01
Abstract
Notwithstanding ECtHR’s commitment to freedom of expression, an extensive body of case-law reflects a growing awareness on the part of the Strasbourg Court of the need to combat hate speech in order to guarantee to all individuals the full enjoyment of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Convention. To this goal, restrictions to freedom of expression may be allowed especially when vulnerable people are the target of these hateful expressions which qualify as «more than insulting» running counter the underlying values of the Convention as a whole. This paper takes disability hate speech as a case-study to examine the current ECtHR’s approach to hate speech legal regulation and its possible developments.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
