The limits of Freedom of Speech in the context of the Rule of Law

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of individual issues of freedom of speech in the context of the rule of law. The purpose of the article is to generalize the main worldview approaches to determining the content and limits of freedom of speech and to substantiate on this basis the legal nature of censorship in the context of the rule of law. The concept and content of freedom of speech as the possibility of a person’s conscious expression of his own will regarding the expression of his point of view (ideas, views, beliefs) in relation to the truth (objective, absolute, relative), as well as the collection, storage, use and distribution in any the method (oral, written, other) of information, carried out under the conditions of a fair regulatory system, which ensures the coordination of individual will with the legal order in society. The main essential characteristics of freedom of speech, in particular, its relative nature, which determines the possibility of its restriction, are specified. The legal nature of censorship is analyzed and the necessity of its characterization as: 1) a general restriction of freedom of speech is proved; 2) as a tool of total state control over society and the individual. It was concluded that the criterion for distinguishing these aspects of censorship is the rule of law. Attention is drawn to the fact that the involvement of individual elements of the rule of law in ensuring freedom of speech and defining its limits is uneven, which is due to the appropriate combination of objective and subjective factors. It is specified that the main elements of the rule of law, which directly affect the assessment of the legality of restrictions on freedom of speech and are a criterion for assessing the permissibility/inadmissibility of censorship, are legality, legal certainty, prohibition of arbitrariness, respect for human rights, non-discrimination and equality before the law.