Right to Freedom of Expression

The right to freedom of expression means that a person has the right to express an opinion, ask questions, criticize authorities, institutions, society, or public decisions, and receive and share information.

This right protects speech that matters to the public, especially when it addresses abuse of power, corruption, discrimination, violence, poverty, ecology, war, accountability, and the rights of others. Without freedom of expression, citizens cannot truly participate in society, because they cannot ask, challenge, understand, or publicly say what they see.

This right matters because without freedom of expression, a society cannot see itself clearly. If people are not allowed to speak, ask questions, criticize, and share information, the public space becomes controlled, and power remains without scrutiny.

Freedom of expression is especially important when people speak about issues that authorities, institutions, or the majority do not want to hear: corruption, violence, discrimination, war crimes, poverty, ecology, police brutality, media pressure, and the misuse of public resources.

This right does not only protect speech. It protects the space in which society can think, doubt, debate, and demand accountability. When that space becomes narrower, people may still formally have rights, but they lose the voice needed to defend them.

This right can be seen when a journalist asks a question that those in power do not want to hear. When a citizen publicly criticizes an institution. When a student speaks out against injustice at a university. When a worker points to poor working conditions. When an artist creates work that provokes society. When an activist publishes information about pollution, violence, corruption, or discrimination.

It is also visible when people face pressure because of what they have said: when someone sues them to silence them, when they lose a job because of a public opinion, when they are threatened over a social media post, or when media outlets avoid a topic because they fear political or financial consequences.

Freedom of expression exists precisely so that public space does not become a place where everyone says only what is safe. It protects the right of a person to say what they see, ask what is uncomfortable, and criticize what holds power.

The legal basis of freedom of expression can be found in constitutional guarantees, laws protecting public speech, media freedom, access to information, and international human rights documents.

This right includes freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, media freedom, the right to seek, receive, and share information, as well as protection from censorship and unjustified pressure. The state may restrict freedom of expression only for clear and justified reasons, such as protecting the rights of others, public safety, or preventing speech that incites violence and hatred. But such restrictions must be necessary, lawful, and proportionate, not a way to silence criticism.

In Serbia, the right to freedom of expression is protected by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, laws regulating public information, media, access to information of public importance, and the protection of citizens’ rights in the public sphere.

This right includes freedom of opinion, speech, media, public criticism, and the right of citizens to seek, receive, and share information. It is especially important when speaking about the work of institutions, public money, corruption, violence, discrimination, the environment, and other issues of public interest.

In practice, the problem appears when freedom of expression is formally recognized, but people are pushed into silence through pressure, lawsuits, threats, economic dependence, or political control. That is why protecting this right does not only mean that censorship is not written into law, but that a person can genuinely speak without fear.

At the international level, freedom of expression is protected by the most important human rights documents, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the European human rights system, freedom of expression is considered one of the foundations of a democratic society. It protects not only information and opinions that are accepted or neutral, but also those that may disturb, shock, or offend, as long as they do not cross into incitement to violence, hatred, or direct harm to the rights of others.