scholarly journals Examination of Restriction of Free Speech under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Reference to Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016, Pakistan

This study aimed to explore the regime for the restriction of freedom of speech under ICCPR. Besides, it assesses the standards and level of freedom of speech restriction under technology law in Pakistan, PECA-2016. A through document analysis of ICCPR and cyber law depicts that at the standards for freedom of speech is far below then the criteria given in an Article 19(3). Furthermore, it appeals to the policy makers and legislators to bring the restriction of freedom of speech in technology law Pakistan at par with that of ICCPR. Nevertheless, it should be amended or repealed to improve the standards for the freedom of speech in the technology law in Pakistan (PECA-2016).

The study was conducted with the aim of exploring the prevailing cyber law, better called as, Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act -2016 (PECA-2016) with regard to practice of freedom of speech on internet in Pakistan. Having discussed in brief the regime for freedom of speech under constitution of Pakistan 1973 and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Pakistan is a party, so obliged legally and morally to obey it. A mix method, where exploratory sequential approach was employed to analyse the issue of violation of freedom of speech on technology by the application of stringent provisions of PECA-2016 by government authorities in Pakistan. Thematic analysis of interviews were done through NVivo and quantitative data was analyzed by using SPSS. Results highlighted that the prevailing cyber technology law in Pakistan is in clear contradiction with the regime for freedom of speech in Pakistan’s constitution and ICCPR. The study expressed that certain provisions of PECA-2016 are stringent and suppressed the voices of internet users. Nevertheless, it also appeals to the policy makers to repeal or amend the prevailing law of technology okand to make it in conformity with the legal regime for freedom of speech in Pakistan.


Author(s):  
Adam S. Chilton ◽  
Mila Versteeg

This chapter analyzes three civil and political rights that are practiced on an individual basis: (1) free speech, (2) the prohibition of torture, and (3) the freedom of movement. The chapter first describes the doctrinal aspects of these rights, as well as how these relate to organizations’ ability to secure their enforcement. It then presents results from a global statistical analysis, which reveal that constitutionalizing these rights is not associated with better rights practices. In addition to presenting global data, this chapter present the results from a case study on free speech in Poland, which documents how the newly elected right-wing Law and Justice Party was able to take control of the country’s public media, even though both free speech and the independence of public media were guaranteed in the constitution.


Author(s):  
Michael Hamilton

This chapter traces the broad contours of the right to freedom of speech as it has evolved in international law, principally under Article 19(2) of the 1996 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR or ‘the Covenant’). Any speech protective principles deriving from the international jurisprudence are qualified by the following factors: the contextual contingency of the value of speech, the inherently limited reach of international scrutiny, the changing nature of the marketplace, and emerging forms of censorship. The chapter then outlines the key human rights treaty protections for freedom of speech, before further exploring the scope of the right. It examines the permissible grounds for speech restriction, highlighting two contested categories of speech—namely, incitement to hatred and glorification of terrorism—where international law not only concedes the low value of such speech, but specifically mandates its prohibition in domestic law. States that introduce broadly framed speech restrictions may claim to be acting in satisfaction of this prohibitory requirement. In consequence, the intensity of any ensuing international scrutiny will inevitably be substantially reduced.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grandis Ayuning Priyanto ◽  
Martinus Sardi

Freedom of speech is a part of fundamental rights to every people. Nowadays, freedom of speech could not felt widely to all people. Freedom of speech developed until Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights assure and restrict freedom of speech. In Indonesia, since the rise of The Law of Information and Electronic Transaction, the restriction of freedom of speech become biased, many words in social media are presumably attack others. Netizen feels security to speak up is limited, such Ruslan Buton who critics and record about President Jokowi deemed as a hoax and hate speech. Even though some articles in 1945 Constitution have already protect and guarantee all people to bear the right to speak. The limitations of Freedom of speech in The Law of Information and Electronic Transaction emerge multi interpretation which the right to speak have not been correspond with the values in 1945 Constitution. To harmonize freedom of speech in Indonesia, it needs cooperation among government and people to eradicate ambiguity and fear in which already happen.By using juridical-normative method, the research aims to understand the condition of freedom of speech in Indonesia, and to understand the protection of netizen in using social media


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Sheraz Khan ◽  
Pardis Moslemzadeh Tehrani ◽  
Mehwish Iftikhar

Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, PECA-2016 is a procedural and penal law in Pakistan deals with the cyber or digital space. This research is to explore about the freedom of speech regime in Pakistan. It also provides the in-depth overview of PECA-2016 and analyses the effect of certain provisions of PECA-2016 on the practice of freedom of speech in cyberspace e.g. internet and whether these provisions promote or hinder the right to freedom of speech. The research is purely qualitative based on thorough document analysis. Results demonstrates that certain provisions of PECA do not have enough safeguards to secure access to quality research and quality knowledge- including freedom of human rights , specially right to freedom of speech, both, online and offline. Hence, it is suggested to policy makers to improve or repeal the current status of PECA-2016 on priority basis.


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2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-130
Author(s):  
Thomas Docherty

This paper looks at intrinsic disputation within proposition, and specifically within propositions that offer a moderated version of the freedom of speech and expression. It begins from a consideration of what is at stake in Othello's ‘Rude am I in my speech’, a rhetorical gesture that frames an act of great eloquence, and in which the eloquence serves to formulate a quarrel by ostensibly resolving it. This example reveals that there is a conflict between empirical quarrel and articulated spoken resolution. This leads the essay to explore the way in which diplomacy works, whereby we establish the pretence that there is peace between disputatious positions through the power of the logic of ‘but’, thus: ‘I agree with you, but …’. Finally, this is extended to a consideration of the limits of and/or on free speech: ‘I defend free speech, but …’, where the ‘but’ is a gesture in which the defence of free speech is modified to the point of being obliterated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 9-18
Author(s):  
Peter Crowley

Northern Ireland’s Troubles conflict, like many complex conflicts through the world, has often been conceived as considerably motivated by religious differences. This paper demonstrates that religion was often integrated into an ethno-religious identity that fueled sectarian conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland during the Troubles period. Instead of being a religious-based conflict, the conflict derived from historical divides of power, land ownership, and civil and political rights in Ireland over several centuries. It relies on 12 interviews, six Protestants and six Catholics, to measure their use of religious references when referring to their religious other. The paper concludes that in the overwhelming majority of cases, both groups did not use religious references, supporting the hypothesis on the integrated nature of ethnicity and religion during the Troubles. It offers grounding for looking into the complex nature of sectarian and seemingly religious conflicts throughout the world, including cases in which religion acts as more of a veneer to deeply rooted identities and historical narratives.


Author(s):  
Yogesh Tyagi

The golden jubilee of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) coincides with the emergence of Asia as a centre of global attention. However, greater attention to Asia has been accompanied by some scepticism over its attitude towards human rights. The chapter provides an overall assessment of the impact of the ICCPR on the major Asian States, with an analysis of the factors affecting such influence. The chapter considers the involvement in, observance of, and compliance with the provisions of the ICCPR by these States. It further delves into the academic and judicial discourse on the ICCPR within these States, recording the domestic disposition towards judgments of foreign courts, the output of the Human Rights Committee, and the work of other international human rights bodies. It makes suggestions for developing mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of the ICCPR and for creating databases to perform further research in the area.


Author(s):  
Başak Çali

This chapter surveys the legal influence of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on the domestic laws of States in the Middle East region. It analyses ratification, reservation, and reporting practices, the domestic legal status of the ICCPR, and State responses to the Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations. The chapter argues that the ICCPR’s legal influence in the region is structurally hampered due to its lack of authoritative legal status and the dominance of defensive domestic legalism. A significant gap remains between the HRC’s vision of civil and political rights protection grounded in the entrenchment of liberal, democratic, and multicultural laws and the region’s authoritarian or majoritarian political structures that foreground security and treat non-majority identities as threats. The influence of the ICCPR on domestic laws in the Middle East remains a long-term battle, whereby small gains under limited legal opportunity structures remain the overarching norm.


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