In 1997 the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) initiated a project to promote and defend the right to information. This decision to engage proactively with human rights was a radical expansion of the profession�s self-conception. Applying an action research methodology, this study traces the development and implementation of the Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) initiative. It traces the origins of the decision, and assesses the outcomes of its first five years as it developed from a project into a continuing and central program of the Federation. Both the internal effects on IFLA and the consequences of the project for the profession of librarianship are explored. The thesis locates the key decision in the history of librarianship, its growth as a profession paralleling the development of libraries as institutions. In turn, the decision is also located in IFLA�s own history, and the way it survived and worked to advance the ideas and tools of librarianship amid difficult and changing international environments. The politics of professionalism is at the core of the study. The disturbing innovation which FAIFE represented took IFLA outside its traditional focus on the status and techniques of the profession, postulating a new role for the Federation. By investing librarianship with a higher responsibility, it has gone further than the now widely accepted expectation that professionals will place community interests before organisational and personal interests at all times. The responsibility to promote the fundamental human right to information has been embraced as the key principle underlying and informing library and information service, the touchstone for evaluating professional priorities. This locates the primary purpose of the profession outside the profession�s institutional base in a supranational, absolute and almost universally recognised social goal. Adopting these aspirations and this role carried many dangers for IFLA. It would inevitably seem a deviation into politics by some. It heightened the risks of both internal dissent and external criticism. It challenged the habitus of disinterested professionalism by invoking a more interventionist social responsibility for IFLA, its constituent library associations and the broader profession. It drew on evolving and contested understandings of professional responsibilities in a complex global environment and has redrawn the accepted boundaries of professional discourse in librarianship. At least so far, the consequences have been beneficial for IFLA, reinforcing its jurisdiction and strengthening the Federation. As an international federation of professional associations, IFLA faces particular challenges in working across diverse national traditions, ideologies and cultures. Its existence and effectiveness rest primarily on internal cohesiveness. Its capacity to develop the FAIFE initiative into a program without schism, and indeed with growing support, has strengthened rather than weakened its organisational capacities. Through that process IFLA has reinvented itself, to a considerable degree, as a form of transnational social movement organisation. It has developed strong relationships with other civil society organisations while maintaining its position as a respected international professional body. It has strengthened its position by becoming a vigorous advocate for the right to information, thereby becoming an actor in the growing international concern with human rights. This study of a decisive period in IFLA�s history offers a rare example of an international professional association in transition. In examining this project to promote unrestricted access to information as the reciprocal right of freedom of expression, the research is a case study of the politics of an expanding sense of professionalism. IFLA�s experience is pertinent to a range of other organisations, and is itself part of the realignment of international political discourse in response to the growing influence of international organisations and the priority of human rights in international political agendas.

<p>Over the past decades, transitions from repressive rule to democracy have increased all over the world, aiming at establishing disclosure and accountability for the crimes perpetrated. One way of assessing the &ldquo / solidity&rdquo / of these new democracies is to look at their provisions on freedom of expression, one of the most precious and fragile rights of man. The right to freedom of expression was recognised by classical traditional liberal theory as from the eighteenth century. It considered it as a useful tool to enhance true statements within the &ldquo / marketplace of ideas&rdquo / . Liberals also believed that such right was a prerequisite for individual autonomy and selffulfillment. They claimed that it strengthened democracy, by allowing individuals to receive all information on issues of public concern which they needed to vote intelligently. Lastly, they argued that it promoted the ideal of tolerance. Since then, the right to freedom of expression has been considered a cornerstone of democracy and protected as such by international instruments among which the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the African Charter for Human and Peoples&rsquo / Rights of 1981 and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950.</p>

<p>Over the past decades, transitions from repressive rule to democracy have increased all over the world, aiming at establishing disclosure and accountability for the crimes perpetrated. One way of assessing the &ldquo / solidity&rdquo / of these new democracies is to look at their provisions on freedom of expression, one of the most precious and fragile rights of man. The right to freedom of expression was recognised by classical traditional liberal theory as from the eighteenth century. It considered it as a useful tool to enhance true statements within the &ldquo / marketplace of ideas&rdquo / . Liberals also believed that such right was a prerequisite for individual autonomy and selffulfillment. They claimed that it strengthened democracy, by allowing individuals to receive all information on issues of public concern which they needed to vote intelligently. Lastly, they argued that it promoted the ideal of tolerance. Since then, the right to freedom of expression has been considered a cornerstone of democracy and protected as such by international instruments among which the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the African Charter for Human and Peoples&rsquo / Rights of 1981 and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950.</p>

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In 1997 the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) initiated a project to promote and defend the right to information. This decision to engage proactively with human rights was a radical expansion of the profession�s self-conception. Applying an action research methodology, this study traces the development and implementation of the Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) initiative. It traces the origins of the decision, and assesses the outcomes of its first five years as it developed from a project into a continuing and central program of the Federation. Both the internal effects on IFLA and the consequences of the project for the profession of librarianship are explored. The thesis locates the key decision in the history of librarianship, its growth as a profession paralleling the development of libraries as institutions. In turn, the decision is also located in IFLA�s own history, and the way it survived and worked to advance the ideas and tools of librarianship amid difficult and changing international environments. The politics of professionalism is at the core of the study. The disturbing innovation which FAIFE represented took IFLA outside its traditional focus on the status and techniques of the profession, postulating a new role for the Federation. By investing librarianship with a higher responsibility, it has gone further than the now widely accepted expectation that professionals will place community interests before organisational and personal interests at all times. The responsibility to promote the fundamental human right to information has been embraced as the key principle underlying and informing library and information service, the touchstone for evaluating professional priorities. This locates the primary purpose of the profession outside the profession�s institutional base in a supranational, absolute and almost universally recognised social goal. Adopting these aspirations and this role carried many dangers for IFLA. It would inevitably seem a deviation into politics by some. It heightened the risks of both internal dissent and external criticism. It challenged the habitus of disinterested professionalism by invoking a more interventionist social responsibility for IFLA, its constituent library associations and the broader profession. It drew on evolving and contested understandings of professional responsibilities in a complex global environment and has redrawn the accepted boundaries of professional discourse in librarianship. At least so far, the consequences have been beneficial for IFLA, reinforcing its jurisdiction and strengthening the Federation. As an international federation of professional associations, IFLA faces particular challenges in working across diverse national traditions, ideologies and cultures. Its existence and effectiveness rest primarily on internal cohesiveness. Its capacity to develop the FAIFE initiative into a program without schism, and indeed with growing support, has strengthened rather than weakened its organisational capacities. Through that process IFLA has reinvented itself, to a considerable degree, as a form of transnational social movement organisation. It has developed strong relationships with other civil society organisations while maintaining its position as a respected international professional body. It has strengthened its position by becoming a vigorous advocate for the right to information, thereby becoming an actor in the growing international concern with human rights. This study of a decisive period in IFLA�s history offers a rare example of an international professional association in transition. In examining this project to promote unrestricted access to information as the reciprocal right of freedom of expression, the research is a case study of the politics of an expanding sense of professionalism. IFLA�s experience is pertinent to a range of other organisations, and is itself part of the realignment of international political discourse in response to the growing influence of international organisations and the priority of human rights in international political agendas.

This thesis contributes to the debate on hate speech by arguing for a compromise solution. It breaks with the absolutist solutions under which either all hate speech should be banned or all should be protected. The prohibition of some hateful expressions is assumed to be legitimate. This follows the European constitutional tradition. However, the prohibitionist norm should be reconciled with the right to political speech. This flows from the normative importance of free political expression that is widely endorsed. The research relies on three theoretical pillars. First, it defines the strongest democratic justificatory case for political speech in liberal democracies. Then, it argues for a richer understanding of what should count as political speech. The proposed approach assigns more weight to the political circumstances than to the sheer content of speech. The argument then proceeds through investigating the strongest objections against protecting hate speech. These prohibitionist arguments assert that hate speech incites against, silences or vilifies vulnerable groups, moreover that hate speech harms democracy. The thesis disputes these objections as applied to political hate speech. The conclusion is that political hate speech narrowly defined should be an exception from the otherwise legitimate ban on hate speech. In the final two chapters, the theoretical findings are applied to the case law of the ECtHR and to the United Kingdom's statutory hate speech regulation. The critical evaluation of hate speech judgments and statutes is coupled with suggestions how to reform the broadly prohibitionist position that these jurisdictions had come to endorse.

Magister Legum - LLM / Over the past decades, transitions from repressive rule to democracy have increased all over the world, aiming at establishing disclosure and accountability for the crimes perpetrated. One way of assessing the “solidity” of these new democracies is to look at their provisions on freedom of expression, one of the most precious and fragile rights of man. The right to freedom of expression was recognised by classical traditional liberal theory as from the eighteenth century. It considered it as a useful tool to enhance true statements within the marketplace of ideas. Liberals also believed that such right was a prerequisite for individual autonomy and self-fulfillment. They claimed that it strengthened democracy, by allowing individuals to receive all information on issues of public concern which they needed to vote intelligently. Lastly, they argued that it promoted the ideal of tolerance. Since then, the right to freedom of expression has been considered a cornerstone of democracy and protected as such by international instruments among which the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the African Charter for Human and Peoples' Rights of 1981 and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950. / South Africa

This qualitative case study explored the development and exercise of voice at City Workshop, an anarchist-inspired alternative school for middle and high school students. Drawing from the dialogic tradition, I defined student voice as the complex and varied ways students express understanding, make themselves heard, and exercise agency over their educational experiences. In this study, I sought to move beyond traditional approaches to student voice that frame its meaning in instrumental terms and focus instead on its ontological and political dimensions. Through individual and focus group interviews, participant observations, document analysis, and a grounded theory approach to data analysis, I examined how students at City Workshop exercise their voices and how the educational practices of the school empower student voice. This study’s findings revealed the scope and power of student voice extended far beyond its practical effects. As demonstrated through the study, student voice was embodied in things students said, things they did not say, patterns of listening and dialogue, and even the environment itself. Relatedly, I learned student voice is empowered through dialogic governance and relational pedagogy, practices that invite students to play more meaningful roles as both individuals, learners, and community members. I also found City Workshop empowered voice by encouraging students to engage with issues of equity, power, and justice across a wide variety of settings and contexts, while dismantling barriers that restrict participation and engagement. Finally, the significance of this study lies in the attention it draws to the viability of experimental, dialogic approaches to schooling rooted in anarchist-inspired traditions and committed to broader educational transformation.

Critically examines the regulation of media through the Press and Journalists Act in Uganda. Also makes a comparative analysis of different forms of media regulation in other jurisdictions and recommends best practices which might be useful for Uganda / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Prof Frederick Jjuuko, Faculty of Law Makerere University Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This thesis deals with cases of conflicts of personality rights with the activities of the media, which representing the exercise of freedom of expression and right to information. It focuses primarily on answering these questions: how is the personality of individuals protected against unauthorized interventions of media in our legal system, what is considered as appropriate and what as an inappropriate interference with the personal rights of individuals and whether an individuals in whose personal rights have been infringed by the media, can obtain adequate reparation for the harm that was caused them by unauthorized intervention. The thesis is divided into six parts. The first part is the introduction, which describes the main focus of the work and questions with which the work deals. The second part is devoted to a treatise on the general format of personality rights according to the general rules contained in Law No. 40/1963 Coll., The Civil Code. The third part of this thesis deals with ways how are the personality rights protect in the media rights standards contained in media law and it also describes the most common forms of interferences between media and the personality rights of individuals. Because in the course of making this work took effect the new Civil Code No. 89/2012 Coll. The...