Salwa Rana · Media Matters for Democracy · Licence: CC BY 4.0
Criminal defamation laws are slowly becoming obsolete around the world and are being replaced with civil remedies. This study documents the international legal frameworks, including the UDHR and the ICCPR, that guarantee free speech and press freedom, along with the exceptions they allow, and asks whether criminal defamation falls within those limits.
It draws on jurisprudence from the UN Human Rights Committee and regional courts such as the European Court of Human Rights, and looks at how free speech is protected in Pakistan and in comparable jurisdictions.
Review and edit: Hija Kamran, Usman Shahid. Design and layout: Aniqa Haider. Published by Media Matters for Democracy in July 2022 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
