1987-07-09 09:30 COMMS. OFFICE (GOV'T HSE)
852 5 845 0995 P.05
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8.
I think it might damage my good relations with Members
of this Council if I were to address them as if they were a body
f judges sitting in some remote tribunal, empanelled to hear and
determine the esoteric legal questions which have been raised.
The sound of the clash of counsels' opinions tends to excite
lawyers, but it also tends to weary those who prefer to look for
the good sense of a matter and a reasonable assurance of legality.
9.
Let me try to put the matter very shortly for it is in
essence quite straightforward. First, the right to express views
and the right to receive them, in the form of films or otherwise,
can never be absolute or unlimited.
They are ordinarily
restricted by law in a variety of ways that are freely accepted:
for example to protect the interests of others (as in the law of
libel or copyright), or to protect the interests of the community
as a whole (as in sedition or obscenity). Such restrictions are
clearly contemplated by Article 19.
10.
J
Next Article 19 lays down three criteria for the
restrictions which it permits. The first of these is that they
must be provided by law. That is clearly satisfied. We are
debating a restriction which will have effect under regulations
that will have the force of law if this Council rejects the
motion proposed by Mr. Martin Lee.
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