ABSTRACT
This essay began by showing the dynamic and often adversarial nature of the freedom of expression. Examination of its many facets reveals that it does not and cannot have a single unchanging dimension, but depends on a set of political, social and cultural factors. It is thus a freedom that varies according to both time and space: it is shaped by its historic juncture, but also by the community where it is expressed. This entails foregoing a dogmatic vision of this freedom, defined a priori on ideological grounds – debatable in themselves – made to apply in all situations and at all times. One may seek to establish which conception of the freedom of expression is the most fitting for the here and now, taking into account all the factors that influence, favour or obstruct it. We cannot, without resorting to the dogmatism that we are deploring, specify what features it will have in the future, as to do so would prejudge and pre-empt any developments that do not correspond to the arbitrarily fixed framework assigned to it.
