1987-07-09 09:31 COMMS. OFFICE (GOV'T HSE)
852 5 845 0995 P.06
-5-
11.
The second of these is that the restrictions imposed
serve the purposes mentioned in Article 19. These include,
respect of the rights or reputations of others and protection of
national security or of public order, otherwise interpreted as
ordre public. It is the considered view of the Administration,
based on the advice we have received that if the censor were to
ban a film that the censor thought likely to damage good relations
with other territories, and therefore warranted restriction, his
decision would fall within the scope of those purposes. Their
ambit is quite wide. In particular the concept of ordre public
is not one with which lawyers expert in the common law are
familiar. Dr. Barendt suggests that it is perhaps synonymous with
public policy or the national interest. One could not dispute
his view that it has a wide meaning, somewhat elusive to capture
in the English or Chinese language.
12.
I would stress the point made in the documents
circulated to Members that it is not these regulations or the
prospective Bill that can be called into question as breaches of
the International Covenant. A breach could only arise when
someone is denied the right to express views or the right to
receive views. And whether at that point the censor's decision
would violate the United Kingdom's obligations under international
law, will naturally depend upon the particular circumstances of
that case. All one can say, at this stage is that a censor
who conscientiously decided that a film or a particular series of
films could not be shown without damaging good relations with
other territories would be acting within the scope of the
restrictions permitted by the Covenant.
./6
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