Author(s): Uladzislau Belavusau
Journal: Amsterdam Law Forum
ISSN 1876-8156
Volume: 4;
Issue: 1;
Start page: 20;
Date: 2012;
Original page
Keywords: EU law | non-discrimination | hate speech | fundamental rights protection | freedom of expression | race theory | ECJ | European integration
ABSTRACT
This article explores the rise of the European ‘First Amendment’ beyond national and Strasbourg law, offering a fresh look into the previously under-theorised issue of hate speech in EU law. Building its argument on (1) the scrutiny of fundamental rights protection, (2) the distinction between commercial and non-commercial speech, and, finally, (3) the looking glass of critical race theory, the paper demonstrates how the judgment of the ECJ in the Feryn case implicitly consolidated legal narratives on hate speech in Europe. In this way, the paper reconstructs the dominant European theory of freedom of expression via rhetorical and victim-centered constitutional analysis, bearing important ethical implications for European integration.
Journal: Amsterdam Law Forum
ISSN 1876-8156
Volume: 4;
Issue: 1;
Start page: 20;
Date: 2012;
Original page
Keywords: EU law | non-discrimination | hate speech | fundamental rights protection | freedom of expression | race theory | ECJ | European integration
ABSTRACT
This article explores the rise of the European ‘First Amendment’ beyond national and Strasbourg law, offering a fresh look into the previously under-theorised issue of hate speech in EU law. Building its argument on (1) the scrutiny of fundamental rights protection, (2) the distinction between commercial and non-commercial speech, and, finally, (3) the looking glass of critical race theory, the paper demonstrates how the judgment of the ECJ in the Feryn case implicitly consolidated legal narratives on hate speech in Europe. In this way, the paper reconstructs the dominant European theory of freedom of expression via rhetorical and victim-centered constitutional analysis, bearing important ethical implications for European integration.
