The ARTICLE 19 Law Programme aims to provide a solid legal underpinning for ARTICLE 19´s work. We believe that the law is a key instrument in implementing freedom of expression in practice. We therefore work to promote the highest standards in the field, both at the international level and within countries.

The right to freedom of expression is fundamental to a broad range of thematic legal areas, such as defamation, access to information and broadcast regulation. While freedom of expression is not an absolute right, even well-meaning laws and regulations in these areas can eat away at the heart of the right. We guard against this by providing high quality legal assessments of the state of international law as well as assessments of best practice, and by lobbying for their implementation at every level.

Our work also aims to identify and combat all forms of censorship. In many countries, the law is a key tool for authoritarian regimes to repress critical voices. Over the years, we have noted a propensity for certain types of laws, such as ´false news´ laws and criminal defamation laws, to be abused for this purpose and we have an on-going campaign to eradicate them.

We address the need for the highest international legal standards to be developed and implemented in a variety of ways, including through:

• Analysing draft and extant laws and making recommendations for improvement;
• Litigating in precedent-setting cases in international fora, such as the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights, and in national courts. Assistance takes the form of amicus curiae briefs, acting directly as counsel for those whose rights have been violated and providing assistance to others in formulating international and comparative law arguments;
• Lobbying for international standard-setting through international human rights monitoring mechanisms;
• Contributing to policy development, including convening seminars of experts and publication of discussion papers.

Key legal documents produced by ARTICLE 19 that are useful for the protection and promotion of freedom of expression include our Freedom of Expression Handbook and our International Standards Series, which condense best practice on issues such as defamation and broadcast regulation into sets of Principles. We also produce research papers on a range of issues including public service broadcasting, defamation, protection of sources and freedom of information.

The Law Programme can be contacted at law@article19.org.