There are certain situations which justify a specific regime that guarantees freedom of expression in a particular way to protect certain interests.
Freedom of expression in a political context
Freedom of expression is very closely linked to democracy as it enables pluralist opinions to be expressed and diverse political programmes to be proposed and debated. Freedom of expression is applicable not only to information or ideas that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the expression of people who participate in political debates and discussions on matters of general interest.
Freedom of expression and artistic creations
Freedom of expression is very broad and protects everyone’s right to express themselves freely, whatever the form of expression. Therefore, freedom of expression also protects works of art such as paintings, films, plays, satire, songs etc. The artistic nature of a work can justify a stronger guarantee against restrictions, in order to protect the artist’s expression.
Freedom of expression and civil servants
Civil servants work for the public service and therefore represent the State when they perform their duties. This special status explains why they have a restricted freedom of expression while they work, but also when they are outside of their work responsibilities.
About this section
In this section you can read more about the specific rules that protect political expressions, artistic expressions and civil servants’ freedom of expression.