Introduction

‘Free speech for everyone except bigots is not free speech at all’ and, ‘it is meaningless to defend the right to freedom of expression for people with whose views we agree. The right to free speech only has political bite when we are forced to defend the rights of people with whose views we profoundly disagree’. ¹ This quote is undoubtedly true in that free speech or the right to freedom of expression ² is a fundamental and universal human right of every human being. It can be found in global and regional human rights instruments, for example, in article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). It is also true that freedom of expression applies not only to expressions that are favourably received but also to those that offend, shock or disturb, as the European Court of Human Rights, the Court overseeing the ECHR, has held. ³ Therefore, along with everyone else, bigots also enjoy the right to free speech.