Università Roma Tre

The course will provide a critical introduction to various forms of extreme speech (hate speech, racism, pornography, blasphemy, Holocaust denialism, etc.) that nowadays pervade the public discourse through digital media. This will also require an analysis of the moral and political justifications of the principle of freedom of expression, and of its place in contemporary constitutonal democracies. While the principle of freedom of speech requires tolerance for dissent, harsh criticism, and disagreeable forms of expression, it is clear that extreme speech raises important theoretical and practical questions in a well-ordered society. For each form of extreme speech, the course will provide an in-depth analysis of existing legislation as well as of the relevant case law.

Syllabus
(the following materials will be made available through the e-learning platform of the University, https://giurisprudenza.el.uniroma3.it/, as well as other materials that can be useful or will be referenced during the course)

1) The Definition and Justifications of Freedom of Speech
Suggested readings:
F. Schauer, What Is Speech? The Question of Coverage, in The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, edited by Adrienne Stone and Frederick Schauer
W. Sadurski, Freedom of Speech and Its Limits, Kluwer, 1999, ch 1.

2) Forms of Extreme Speech

2.1) Hate Speech
Suggested readings:
Alon Harel, Hate Speech, in The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, edited by Adrienne Stone and Frederick Schauer
Michel Rosenfeld, Hate Speech in Constitutional Jurisprudence: A Comparative Analysis, in Cardozo Law Review, 2003.
Cases:
ECtHR, NORWOOD v. THE UNITED KINGDOM
ECtHR, PAVEL IVANOV v. RUSSIA

2.2) Pornography
Suggested readings:
Caroline West, Pornography. In The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, edited by Adrienne Stone and Frederick Schauer
Cases:
American Booksellers Association, Inc. v. William H. Hudnut, III, Mayor, City of Indianapolis, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985)
ECtHR, PRYANISHNIKOV v. RUSSIA (2019)

2.3) Political extremism and Terrorist Speech
Cases:
HCtHR, Belkacem v Belgium (2017)

2.4) Blasphemy
Cases:
HCtHR, Otto-Preminger-Institute vs. Austria (1994)
HCtHR, Pussy Riot case (2018)

2.4) Holocaust Denialism
Suggested readings:
Rafael Cohen-Almagor, (2009). Holocaust denial is form of hate speech. Amsterdam Law
Forum, 2(1), 33-42.

2.5) Fake News
Suggested readings:
C. Sunstein, Does the First Amendment Protect Falsehoods? A Framework, Harvard Public Law Working Paper No. 23-02
Cass R. Sunstein, Falsehoods and the First Amendment, in Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Volume 33, Number 2 Spring 2020