Concept, meaning and scope of freedom of speech and expression. Understanding article 19 of the constitution daily times. Mere excessiveness of a tax is not a ground for challenging it as a restriction on one of the freedom in article 19 1. In january 2004, article 19 published a memorandum on a draft version of the law. Article 19 of the international covenant on civil and political rights iccpr provides for. Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most sacrosanct rights guaranteed under the indian constitution. Freedom of speech and expression is one of the six freedoms which the constitution of india guarantees under its article 19 1. There are no geographical limitations to freedom of speech and expression under article 19 1 a,and this freedom is exercisable in india and outside india and if state sets up any barriers to its citizens freedom of expression in any country in the world, it would violate article 19 1 a. Freedom of speech article 19 1 a the constitution of india guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens. According to article 19 2, the state may make a law imposing reasonable restrictions. Article 19 1 a of the constitution of india which guarantees the right to free speech and expression absolutely allows for criticism of the government.
Article 19 1 a guarantees to all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression. In the famous case express newspapers bombay p ltd. It is the basis of civilization, and without it, liberty of thought would shrivel. Protecting the human right to freedom of expression in. Union of india court observed the importance of press very aptly. Pdf freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental. Free speech allows an individual to express his or her aspirations, ideas and opinions and plays an instrumental role in achieving selffulfillment. Freedom of speech and expression theory of abrogation. Emerging rights under article 191a of the constitution of india. Right to freedom of opinion and expression everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The article 19 freedom of expression handbook vi acknowledgements this handbook was written by sandra coliver, article 19 s law programme director, based upon the case summaries and decisions submitted by more than 50 contributors from 35 countries as well as her own research and the research of several legal interns. In the constituent assembly debates it was made clear by dr.
The freedom of the press is regarded as a species of which freedom of expression is a genus. The constitution does not make any special specific reference to the freedom of press. The text of article 19 pertaining to freedom of speech and expression is given below. Article 19 1 provides that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peaceably and without arms, to form associations or unions, to move freely throughout the. Guide to the law of georgia on freedom of speech and expression. Although article 19 does not express provision for freedom of press but the fundamental right of the freedom of press implicit in the right the freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of speech and expression is a bulwark of a democratic form of government. Under article 19 2 the state may make a law imposing reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right to freedom of speech and expression. A law banning entry and circulation of journal in a state held to be invalid.
Freedom of speech and expression is one of the most important fundamental rights of a democracy. Article 191 in the constitution of india 1949 1 all citizens shall have the right. Freedom of speech and expression under article 19 of the. It is often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies4. The state guarantees freedom of speech and expression to every person. The main conception behind granting this freedom to the citizen of india was to allow them to freely develop their thoughts and ideas and share them without any unreasonable hurdle. Article 19 1 all citizens shall have the right a to freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of speech and expression article 19 of the constitution provides freedom of speech which is the right to express ones opinion freely without any fear through oral written electronic broadcasting press. In the kedarnath case kedarnath singh vs state of bihar, 1962 air 955, where the supreme court examined the constitutional validity of sec 124a, the court had an opportunity to consider. Clause 1 a of article 19 states, all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression.
In international human rights the freedom of speech and expression is recognized in international covenant on. As with article 19 of the iccpr, however, article 10 also details a number of grounds on which the right to freedom of expression may be limited. All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech. The right to freedom of expression insouthafrica jane duncan. Freedom of the press is implied from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by article 19 1 a. Article 19 of the indian constitution right to freedom. The constitution of 1973 guaranteed the right to freedom of speech and expression under article 19 and it also guaranteed the right to freedom of press. Article 19 of constitution of india and right to freedom. Every person shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, which shall.
Article 19 of the constitution of pakistan 1973, provides the concept of freedom of speech. Under the article 19 of the constitution of pakistan, 1973, every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable. In this article, you can read all about article 19 1. In the draft constitution, one of the heads of the restrictions proposed on freedom of speech and expression was sedition. The freedom of speech and expression is recognized as a human right under article 19 and has now formed a part of the international and regional human rights law. In the international covenant on civil and political rights, freedom of expression occupies the same slot article 19 as it does in the udhr, providing explicit criteria that the first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization. Constitution of india, article 191a, speech and expression. The constitution of india provides the right of freedom, given in article 19 with the view of guaranteeing individual rights that were considered vital by the framers of the constitution. Article 19 guarantees six freedoms to every person. The organization takes its name from article 19 of. Article 191a of indian constitution says that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of speech comes from the very heart of a natural right of a civilised societies to impart and. The supreme court has held that the right to know news and information regarding administration of the government is included in. Under article 19 2, reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the exercise of this right for certain purposes.
Ambedkar, chairman of the drafting committee, that no special mention of the freedom of press was necessary at all as the press and an an individual or a citizen were the same. Pdf freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right. Freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by article 19 1 a can be reasonably restricted on the grounds specified in article 19 2. Article 191a secures to every citizen the freedom of speech and expression. There is no specific provision ensuring freedom of the press as such. Since its inclusion in article 19 of the universal declaration of human rights, the right to freedom of opinion and expression has been protected in. General principles of freedom of expression the party invoking s. Article 19 1 a freedom of speech and expression freedom of speech is an indispensable element of any democratic country. In this article, you can read all about article 19 1 a and its provisions. Right to freedom of thought and religion article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of islam or the integrity, security or defence of pakistan or. Essay on the freedom of speech and expression under the. Freedom of expression, like other fundamental rights.
Freedom of speech and expression provides the right to express ones opinion freely without any fear through any medium. Freedom of press is not specifically mentioned in article 19 1 a of the constitution and what is mentioned there is only freedom of speech and expression. The freedom to know concerns the right to demand and receive information by power. The expression agenda xpa metric illustrates with alarming clarity. Quotations from judicial opinions not written in english were translated by the contributor, unless otherwise specified, and thus are not official. Article 19 of the udhr protected freedom of opinion and expression in the. However, the state can impose restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression in the interests of the integrity, security and sovereignty of the country, friendly relations with foreign nations, for public order. Freedom of speech and expression is a sacred icon in the constitutions inner sanctum, which has been provided to the people in the fundamental rights chapter. Freedom of speech and expression would include artistic speech as it includes the right to paint, sign, dance, write poetry, literature and is covered by article 19 1 a of the constitution because the common basic characteristic of all these activities is freedom of speech and expression. Justifiable limitations to the right to freedom of expression. Article 19 of indian constitution in hindi youtube. The constitution of india gives a free democratic government to its people. If democracy means government of the people by the people. Article 19 stylized article 19 is a british human rights organization with a specific mandate and focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide founded in 1987.
This involves a form of proportionality test involving three important components. Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc. Freedom of speech and expression legal service india. The constitution of india guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all citizens. Article 19 and threat to media the news international. The right to freedom in article 19 guarantees the freedom of speech and expression, as one of its six freedoms. The constitution, the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of speech and expression under article 19, which deals with protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. The article 19 freedom of expression handbook viii most of the case summaries collected in this book were submitted by contributors from around the world. Concept, meaning and scope of freedom of speech and. In india, this right has been enshrined under article 19 1 a of the constitution of india. Chapter 1, by soli sorabjee, a leading free speech advocate and former attorneygeneral of.
1204 1457 1575 853 731 651 218 565 1030 251 339 1432 1315 607 475 1421 567 527 1563 617 1543 967 395 1553 995 1221 321 1581 930 1390 205 1640 1172 1233 970 1530 339 1347 130 982 1377 38 838 588 1105 1239 959 425 1274