The place of liability in respect to the freedom of expression

• Author: Valentina Chiper (Mihalcea)
• Position: Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences University of Craiova - Romania
• Pages: 36-45

AGORA International Journal of Juridical Sciences, www.juridicalj ournal.univagora.ro

ISSN 1843-570X, E-ISSN 2067-7677

No. 3 (2013), pp. 36-45

36

THE PLACE OF LIABILITY IN RESPECT TO THE FREEDOM OF

EXPRESSION

V. Chiper (Mihalcea)*

Valentina Chiper (Mihalcea)

Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences

University of Craiova, Craiova, Romania

*Correspondence: Valentina Chiper (Mihalcea), University of Craiova,

13 Al. I. Cuza Street, Craiova, 200585, Dolj, Romania

E-mail: av_mihalcea@yahoo.com

Abstract

The terms ‘freedom’ and ‘liability’ are polysemantic and bear multi-valent meanings

according to the field.

Civil or criminal liability, through the interdictions it brings, sets the border between

the legal or illegal discourse. The guilt defined by criminal and civil crimes transfers a set of

obligations to the communicator

1

. Terms like ‘excess’ or ‘abuse’ of the freedom of expression

is another way to define it.

We shall try hereinafter to answer the question whether it is better to regulate and

engage the civil liability or criminal liability in relation to the freedom of expression.

Keywords: freedom of expression, civil liability, criminal liability

Introduction

Freedom of expression has been considered from the ancient times as a powerful

weapon and sometimes as a menace to power, whether religious or political, social or

economic. The most powerful legal vehicle in ensuring the control over works is censure,

gradually replaced by liability.

The freedom of expression, one of the oldest liberties of the citizen and known either

under this title or as the freedom of the word or press essentially include two freedoms: the

freedom of expression supposes the liberty to search for, to receive and to disseminate

information and ideas of any kind, in verbal, written, printed or artistic format and

irrespectively of the frontiers or any other means at its discretion

2

, without any interference of

public bodies and across any border

3

.

The terms ‘freedom’ and ‘liability’ are polysemantic and bear multi-valent meanings

according to the field – political, legal or symbolic. The concept of ‘freedom’ known two

major approached in the reference literature. The first is a natural approach according to

each every person is presumed to have innate wisdom to “rule, to be born with the equal and

imprescriptible right to live independently of his/her neighbours and to behave according to

his/her understanding of destiny”

4

so that the judiciary freedom is characterized by an area

* Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the strategic grant POSDRU/CPP107/DMI1.5/S/7842 1,

Project ID 78421 (2010), co-financed by the European Social Fund – Investing in People, within the Sectorial

Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007 – 2013, University of Craiova, Faculty of Law

and Administrative Sciences.

1

P. Jourdain, Les principes de la responsabilité civile, Dalloz, P aris, 2000, 5th édition, p. 48.

2

Art. 1 9 of the International Pact on civil and political rights, adopted by UN General Assembly on December

16, 1966.

3

Art. 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and F undamental Freedoms.

4

Tocquevile, État social et politique de la France avant et depuis 1799, 1838, renewed edition by Garnier-

Flammarion, 1988, p. 80.