Prof. Dr. DANIEL GAMPER

The fact that freedom of expression is a fundamental right does not resolve the conflicts that surface in relation to it. To understand the limitations to which free speech is currently subject, as well as the significant role it plays in public discussions, it needs to be analysed within its specific circumstances. One of the most notorious foci of freedom of expression is religiously motivated offences, in particular those directed at minority religions in the European context. Since the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in a Danish newspaper in 2005 and subsequently republished by other newspapers around the world, public opinion on freedom of expression has been linked to the existence of terrorist violence. To continue honouring this fundamental principle of constitutional order and indispensable pivot on which democracy must revolve, it is necessary to recover the meaning of free expression beyond its use for purposes of provocation or mockery. Artistic freedom tends to exceed the limits to what can be said, expresssed or represented, limits that are imposed by social norms, good taste, and the protection of the rights of individuals. Without such strains, artistic freedom loses its raison d’être, and something similar can be said of freedom of expression, which cannot be stayed, and tends essentially to overturn the established.