Freedom
of Speech 
Freedom
of Speech
The Czech Republic vs. The United States
Chris Henry, Jennifer Lemkul, Brian Maher, Max Moldenhauer, Mike Richmond
Czech Republic Reasoning
The Czech government “provides for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Individuals are free to, and often do, speak out on political issues and freely criticize the Government and public figures.” (http://www.mzv.cz/washington/general/general.htm#Government) These freedoms are protected in the Czech Republic’s Constitution in Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. They are as follows:
(1)
Freedom of expression and the right to information are guaranteed.
(2) Everybody has the right to express freely his or her opinion by word, in
writing, in the press, in pictures or in any other form, as well as freely to
seek, receive and disseminate ideas and information irrespective of the
frontiers of the State.
(3) Censorship is not permitted.
(4) The freedom of expression and the right to seek and disseminate information
may be limited by law in the case of measures essential in a democratic society
for protecting the rights and freedoms of others, the security of the State,
public security, public health, and morality. (http://www.psp.cz/cgi-bin/eng/docs/laws/charter.html)
This article would imply that the school would not be allowed to remove the site. The school is denying the student his right to express his opinions while actively engaging in censorship. However, on http://www.apc.org/english/rights/europe/czech/czech.htm it is stated that:
If an individual
wishes to publish on the Internet, they can choose from a number of ISPs which
offer free web hosting. People are usually asked to fill in a registration
agreement which usually states that:
1)
Information published must be in harmony with the legal system of
the Czech Republic, which must not be violated.
2)
Child pornography, drugs, xenophobia, racism, etc is prohibited.
In
cases where this agreement is violated, the ISP usually deletes unsuitable data
from its server immediately and without warning. It is not common for people to
be accused and tried except in cases where a serious crime is committed.
This clearly shows that
the student had signed away his right to place the material dealing with drugs
on his website. If the student
wished to raise objections to the Internet provider placing these restrictions,
he would be looked down upon by society. In
the Czech Republic “an assertive, independent attitude is often seen as
foolishness and eccentricity.” (http://www.britskelisty.cz/9903/19990326r.html)
This would prevent the student from making a scene since not many people would
support a radical. Since the freedom of speech is a fairly new freedom for
citizens in the Czech Republic, having only been established in 1990, citizens
would be less likely to speak out because they are accustomed to living under the old
rules.