ABSTRACT
International and European tools which seek to tackle the far-right and its by-products have been developed within the framework of legitimately restricting rights in certain circumstances. As such, before proceeding with a black letter analysis of the provisions, it is imperative to conduct an appraisal of positions in the realm of philosophy, legal and political theory. To this end, the chapter will commence by considering the general theoretical framework which tackles the question of if and, if so, when the restriction of human rights and freedoms can be considered legitimate. It will continue to assess militant democracy as a doctrine moulded on the pre-emptive restriction of rights and freedoms for the protection of democracy itself. The freedom of expression will then be appraised through an analysis of the libertarian approach to this freedom both in the realms of classical and contemporary scholars. The necessity of a section which focusses solely on free speech emanates from the fact that relevant scholarship has dealt predominantly with expression rather than the other relevant freedoms of assembly and association. Beyond its substantive significance, free speech has gained a pivotal symbolism in the role of people in the demos. The chapter will proceed to look at Critical Race Theory (CRT) and also consider hate speech bans through the application of an effects-based approach, both as lenses through which hate speech bans can be examined.
