Journal of Constitutional Law (Nov 2020)
The Bounds of “Margin of Appreciation” of the State in Restraining Freedom of Expression during the Pandemic
Abstract
2020 will certainly become a part of history of the mankind not just due as a healthcare crisis related to COVID-19 (novel Coronavirus), but also as vivid example of a more “coordinated action” of the “civilised nations”, the situation, the management and improvement of which became the reason for unity of the “international society”. However, despite such unity, even in the era of technological development like this one, the only relevant measure of combating the virus is the one from the century before. Thus, the foregoing paper discusses the public-law aspects of the emergency caused by the pandemic on the basis of legal analysis of state policies. The goal of the paper is to vividly distinguish the power of information in the process of managing the pandemic and to demonstrate that censorship is used by the states for silencing the political opponents. Apart from demonstrating the problems, the paper aims at showing the ways, which the international society can use to face disinformation and unjustifiable involvement in media activity shackled by authoritarianism. The main postulate of the paper is that in the era of technological development, gossip and conspiracy have no place and that the states shaping the current political agenda should treat the power of information and its impact on the wellbeing of the society with higher preservation.
