Reimagining the Limits of Free Speech under International Law

Free speech is one of our most cherished and contested values. Yet, the contemporary global experience of free speech reveals that this right is in danger due to increasingly sophisticated restrictions under the guise of combatting incitement, hate speech, defamation, blasphemy, terrorism, and disinformation. In every corner of the globe, authoritarian regimes have sought to devalue free speech and dilute its legal protection. In the West, the systematic appropriation of the language of 'free speech' by racist and chauvinist agendas has cast doubts over the true value of free speech. The question then arises: is international law equipped to cope with contemporary threats to free speech? Reimagining the Limits of Free Speech under International Law takes a closer look at the international law on free speech, and specifically the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to uncover the deficiencies of the typical proportionality test in protecting free speech from unjust limitations. It also presents an account of how a lack of rigour in the way limitations on free speech are assessed has caused considerable harm to this right at the global level. The book argues that a good faith interpretation of article 19(3) of the Covenant points to an alternative justificatory approach based on individual responsibility. It explores new territory in international human rights law and attempts to stimulate a fresh debate on how the legal doctrine that governs the limits of free speech can be strengthened.