Discrimination againts consumer in the provision of goods and services Abstract The topic of this thesis is the prohibition of discrimination of consumers in the provision of goods and services. Recently, this issue has been the object of interest thanks to the Constitutional Court's judgment from 17 April 2019, in which the Constitutional Court dealt with consumer discrimination directly. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the concept of discrimination in the area of provision of goods and services and to compare the principle of non-discrimination with other principles acting in conflict. For this reason, the thesis is divided into two main parts. The introduction is followed by the first part that is fully devoted to the analysis of the concept of consumer discrimination and other terms related to it. The second part of the work deals with the principles against which the principle of non-discrimination directly acts. The first part, entitled Consumer Discrimination, is divided into five subchapters. The main introductory chapter deals in detail with the analysis of the concept of discrimination and deals with discriminatory criteria in individual subchapters. The second chapter mentions cases of different treatment, which by law are not and cannot be considered as discrimination of the consumer. The...

Western countries are regarded as open democracies where free speech is viewed assomething that people have fought and died for throughout history; several westernmilitary forces label themselves as defenders of (liberal) democratic values, wherethe citizens’ right to speak is held as utmost importance. Swedish military officershave a unique, compared with other countries, right to participate in public debatesand voice their opinions in news media and on the internet. However, throughouthistory, there have been events that indicate that soldiers do not enjoy the samerights as other citizens. This thesis explores how the Swedish Armed Forces handlefreedom of expression within its ranks and define the perceived existence of a“sphere of unsuitability”. All reviewed cases refer to a situation where the individualpublicly contradicts the organisations’ own expressed views and interests. Thisthesis has identified the existence of a “sphere of unsuitability” that, together withambiguous messages from the Swedish Armed Forces, has led to military personnelwithdrawing from public debates, even under anonymity. The conflict between theindividual’s freedom of expression and military interests occurs on several levelswhen criticism lies outside what the Armed Forces perceive as acceptable.In summary, the tentative conclusion is that although loyalty and reliabilitymay be called into question by the military, it is when the Armed Forces’ labels anexpression or opinion as unsuitable that the individual may lose any furtheropportunities of a career. The study makes two main research contributions. First,addressing how the Swedish Armed Forces deal with freedom of expression withinits organisation provides an empirical investigation of a critical democratic issue.Second, by identifying a perceived “sphere of unsuitability”, including how such asphere is constructed, the thesis adds theoretical substance to a developing researchfield.

This thesis investigates the political discourse surrounding the controversial act of Quran burnings in Sweden, focusing on the positions of leaders from the three largest political parties between April 2022 and October 2023. Utilizing a theoretical framework that differentiates between consequentialist and non-consequentialist perspectives, it examines the politicians’ arguments for justifying and limiting freedom of expression in this context. Initially, both the Social Democratic Party and the Moderate Party predominantly adopted a non-consequentialist stance, underscoring freedom of expression as a fundamental democratic right, irrespective of its consequences. However, as challenges related to national security and international relations emerged, their positions evolved, revealing internal inconsistencies and a shift toward a consequentialist approach. By August 2023, the Moderates proposed a review of the Public Order Act, incorporating national security considerations, while the Social Democrats suggested amendments to laws against racial hatred to include religious desecrations. In contrast, the Sweden Democrats consistently maintained a non-consequentialist stance, emphasizing the democratic principle of upholding free expression. This study’s findings highlight the complexities and challenges of maintaining consistent political principles amidst changing societal and international landscapes. It underscores the importance of clear foundational principles in the discourse on freedom of expression, contributing to the broader understanding of democratic values in contemporary Sweden.

Lietuvoje 2008-aisiais metais įsigaliojo Lietuvos Respublikos susirinkimų įstatymo 8 straipsnio 5 punktas bei Lietuvos Respublikos administracinių teisės pažeidimų kodekso 18818 straipsnis. Šios įstatyminės normos draudžia naudoti nacistinius ir komunistinius simbolius susirinkimuose, masiniuose renginiuose bei kitaip demonstruoti. Tokiu būdu siekiama apsaugoti demokratinės visuomenės narius nuo nacistinių ir komunistinių okupacinių režimų propagandos, užkirsti kelią kurtis antidemokratines idėjas propaguojančioms organizacijoms. Tačiau kai kurie draudžiami simboliai gali būti suprantami ne vien tik kaip nacistiniai ar komunistiniai, todėl ne visais atvejais jų demonstravimas ar naudojimas pažeis svarbias kitų asmenų teises ir laisves. Šio darbo tikslas yra įvertinti, ar šie draudimai neprieštarauja Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijos 25 straipsnyje įtvirtintai saviraiškos laisvei. Saviraiškos laisvė – viena iš pagrindinių žmogaus teisių, įtvirtinta daugumos demokratinių valstybių konstitucijose bei įvairiose konvencijose, tačiau ji nėra absoliuti. Siekiant įvertinti, ar draudimas demonstruoti nacistinius bei komunistinius simbolius neprieštarauja saviraiškos laisvei, analizuojami principai, kuriais remiantis galima riboti saviraiškos laisvę, taip pat vertybės, kurias siekiama apsaugoti nustatant saviraiškos laisvės apribojimus. Analizuojant principus bei saugomas vertybes, daugiausia remiamasi Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijos bei Europos žmogaus teisių ir pagrindinių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In 2008 Lithuanian Parliament enacted new laws prohibiting use of Nazi and Communist symbols during meetings and other mass events or other kinds of demonstration (Article 8(5) of Law on Meetings of Republic of Lithuania and Article 18818 of Administrative Violations Code of Republic of Lithuania). The purpose of this prohibition is to protect members of democratic society from propaganda of Nazi and Communist occupation regimes and to prevent the establishment of organizations that propagates antidemocratic ideas. However, some of the prohibited symbols may be understood not only as of Nazis or Communists, therefore they would not breach fundamental rights and freedoms of other members of the society. Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights. It is mentioned in most constitutions of most democratic states and international conventions. However, freedom of expression is not absolute. In order to be restricted it has to meet some requirements. The requirements are being analyzed in this master project according to provisions of the Constitution of Lithuanian Republic and the European Convention on Human Rights and case-law regarding freedom of expression of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania and the European Court of Human Rights. Laws prohibiting demonstration of Nazi and Communist symbols are being compared to some other European states’ laws of the same function. The purpose of this master project is to evaluate whether the... [to full text]

This bachelor's thesis is based on a Minor Field Study (MFS) conducted in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco, April and May 2015. The aim is to study Moroccan journalists' attitudes towards citizen journalism and its impact on the role of the journalist: 1) With what claims do they define citizen journalists and journalists respectively? and 2) In what ways do these claims relate to the impact citizen journalists can be expected to have on the role of the journalist and freedom of expression in Morocco? In the discussion, theories on discourse, professionalism, journalistic ideals, and development journalism are applied. Semi-structured interviews in French were conducted with five journalists working within five different print and online publications. The material was analyzed according to a model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The interviewed journalists give accounts of how they are "condemned to be connected" to the vox populi that citizen journalists constitute. There is a prevalence of professionalism discourse where verification and objectivity are described as what characterizes a journalist. But respondents also emphasize "teamwork", and that "all journalists are citizen journalists", and these themes are interpreted as characteristic of development journalism. Within professional discourse in a development journalism context, the reliability of citizen journalists is downplayed. At the same time, citizen journalists are described as freer than professional journalists. In conclusion, it is considered likely that development journalist discourse sets an obstacle to the liberalizing impact of citizen journalism.

This dissertation explores the role of Internet censorship and circumvention in the Arab world as well as Arabs’ views on the limits to free speech on the Internet. The project involves the creation of an Internet censorship circumvention tool named Alkasir that allows users to report and access certain types of censored websites. The study covers the Arab world at large with special focus on Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen. This work is of interdisciplinary nature and draws on the disciplines of media and communication studies and computer science. It uses a pioneering experimental approach by placing Alkasir in the hands of willing users who automatically feed a server with data about usage patterns without storing any of their personal information. In addition to the analysis of Alkasir usage data, Web surveys were used to learn about any technical and nontechnical Internet censorship practices that Arab users and content producers may have been exposed to. The study also aims at learning about users’ experiences with circumvention tools and how such tools could be improved. The study found that users have successfully reported and accessed hundreds of censored social networking, news, dissident, multimedia and other websites. The survey results show that while most Arab informants disapprove censoring online anti-government political content, the majority support the censoring of other types of content such as pornography, hate speech, and anti-religion material. Most informants indicated that circumvention tools should be free of charge, fast and reliable. An increase in awareness among survey respondents of the need for privacy and anonymity features in circumvention solutions was observed.

Hundreds of journalists took to the streets in different parts of Guatemala to protest attacks against their colleagues and infringements on their freedom of expression in the country, during the second week of March in 2015. The larger protests were held in Guatemala City and in Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez, where earlier that week at slightly past noon three reporters were gunned down at a park in front of a municipality building; one survived the attack. Three days later a cameraman was shot dead by men on motorcycles, in front of the television station he worked for in Chicacao, Suchitepéquez. This is the perpetual cycle of violence that has been inculcated into the daily lives of the people in the country - it's a cultural construct that's oozed into the depths of society and sadly into the profession of journalism. This thesis is a study that investigates how Guatemalan journalists live and work in the country under a constant threat of violence, fighting for their space as a respected profession in a society that could benefit from a functioning media system. The in-depth interviews with reporters in the country will allow for a first-hand interpretation to support the research already conducted in the literature review. The study is a furthered analysis of literature and interviews to better understand why the state of journalism in Guatemala is complex, and why it is imperative for journalists to continue fighting for their space.

A major weakness of the literature on the regulation of freedom of expression within the field of political science is the assumption of peaceful, liberal democratic conditions. My project seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the legitimate regulation of speech by analyzing disciplinary approaches to freedom of expression through the lens of countries recovering from intractable conflict. I ask: How appropriate are current understandings of freedom of expression to the regulation of speech in post-conflict environments? Relying on insights from the field of social psychology and the case of post-genocide Rwanda, I argue that greater restrictions on freedom of expression could be legitimate in countries recovering from intractable conflict. However, rights derogations must take place within limits so as not to become a tool of authoritarian rule.

La Thaïlande est un pays sous régime de monarchie constitutionnelle mais il subit souvent les interventions militaires. Malgré l’installation de la démocratie en 1932 et le développement des textes juridiques, la liberté d’expression et le droit de la communication sont limités. Le marché audiovisuel est préoccupé par les opérateurs ayant obtenu les contrats de concession de l’État pour une durée excessive. La solution proposée par la Constitution de 1997 est de créer une autorité de régulation indépendante de communication audiovisuelle pour, d’une part, renforcer l’exercice de la liberté d’expression et le droit de la communication ainsi que la mise en place des principes fondamentaux de la communication audiovisuelle, et, d’autre part, attribuer à nouveaux les fréquences pour l’ouverture totale du marché audiovisuel afin d’offrir une variété de choix aux téléspectateurs ou aux auditeurs. La création de l’autorité de régulation de communication audiovisuelle a été interrompue plusieurs fois par les décisions du Tribunal administratif, du fait de conflit d’intérêts, et a finalement été annulée par le coup d’État en 2006, abrogeant la Constitution de 1997. La Constitution actuelle de 2007 impose de créer une seule autorité de régulation chargée de l’audiovisuel et des télécommunications pour faire face au développement des technologies qui convergent. Aujourd’hui, cette autorité n’est pas encore mise en place. La lacune dans la régulation des deux domaines de communication s’agrandit. Depuis la suppression du monopole étatique de l’audiovisuel, la France a connu trois autorités de régulation. L’exercice des droits et libertés de la communication se développe progressivement. L’étude sur la comparaison avec le système français pourrait orienter la Thaïlande vers le chemin de la démocratie et du développement. / Although Thailand is a constitutional monarchy country with the establishment of democracy and the development of legal texts, it is often subject to military intervention which creates the limitation of freedom of expression and the rights to communicate. The audiovisual market is dominated by the operators who obtain the concession contracts of the State for too long. The solution of the mentioned problem is proposed by the 1997 Constitution, which is to create an independent regulatory authority for audiovisual communication to improve the exercise of freedom of expression on communication law and to implement the basic principles of audiovisual communication. Moreover an allotment of new frequencies is also important for the full opening of the audiovisual market in order to vary the choices for viewers and listeners. The creation of the regulatory authority of audiovisual communication has been interrupted several times by the committee’s conflict of interest. In 2006, it was unfortunately withdrawn by the coup by repealing the 1997 Constitution. After that in The 2007 Constitution, it is required the establishment of a single regulatory authority for broadcasting and telecommunications to meet the development of converging technologies however the authority has not been implemented yet. So the gaps in regulation between two areas of communications are growing.In France, there are three of regulatory authorities of audiovisual communication which have been formed after the abolition of state monopoly of broadcasting. The study of French’s basic principles of audiovisual communication could guide Thailand in several ways since the rights and the freedoms of communication in Thailand have been democratically developing gradually

The aim of this study is to research freedom of expression and its content and value. The focus has been to find answers to where freedom of expression has its limits, if it has any. This study has three aims: to research what freedom of expression means; to research the arguments for it; and to research if there are any limits to freedom of expression. Due to the aim of understanding the limits for freedom of expression, two questions regarding whether freedom of expression shall be restricted by prohibiting racist organisations and hate speech are being answered. Political philosophers Ronald Dworkin, Elena Namli, Thomas Scanlon, and Jeremy Waldron’s theories on the limits of freedom of expression are analyzed through the eyes of the theorists John Stuart Mill and Isaiah Berlin. My conclusion from the research is that freedom of expression should not be limited by forbidding racist organisations, but instead that it shall be limited by prohibiting hate speech.