Comparative Study of the Limits of Freedom of Expression on Television from the Perspective of International Documents on Human Rights and Iran’s Legal System

Abstract

According to the extremity-centered attitude of human, freedom of expression is a requirement for the individual independence of human being as an essential end, so the restrictions on which should be determined within the framework of the essential exception. Freedom stands in the realm of the natural rights and restricting it in any manner is against that essential right. In the current age, television can undoubtedly be utilized as one of the most powerful media in the service of freedom of expression. However, at the same time, mal-use of this device can offend both public and private rights. Therefore, restricting the domain of activities for the TV channels is essential. In this regard, the international documents of human rights have set restrictions for TV. The Iranian legal system considers some restrictions for this matter too, some of which are compatible with those prescribed in the international documents of human rights and some others such as the Islamic rules and standards cannot be found in any other international documents as the restrictions on freedom of expression. It seems that the Guardian Council's interpretations of Articles 44 and 175 of the constitution are a kind of additional constraint on the freedom of expression. In this paper, by conducting a comparative analysis on the said documents, we analyze the restricions on form and nature of the freedom of expression in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting Corporation

Keywords

• human rights
• freedom of expression
• restriction
• television
• morality