EUCE York Visiting Scholar Dr. Uladzislau Belavusau will deliver a lecture as part of the series EUCE Lectures in Law and Governance on Thursday, May 10th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in room 305 York Lanes (building #24 on the map found here). Entitled “Fighting Hate Speech in the E.U.”, this lecture will explore the latest developments on the controversial issue of hate speech in European law, both on the level of the Council of Europe and most recently in EU non-discrimination law.

Dr. Belavusau is an assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (the Netherlands) with expertise in EU law, human rights, comparative constitutional law, and critical theory. He holds a Ph.D. from the European University Institute (Florence, Italy) and an LL.M. from the Collège d’Europe (Bruges, Belgium). He was a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley (USA) and Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht (Heidelberg, Germany). In addition he has been guest lecturing at various universities in the Netherlands and Belgium.

This lecture is being presented by EUCE York in cooperation with the Centre for Feminist Research.

Abstract: In the last fifteen years, the “European” fight with hate speech has attracted a new wave of attention in the light of the vehement (anti-)migration narratives, ever-virulent rhetoric of the radical right, glorification of terrorism and, ultimately, the discussion on the extent of the hate speech clauses in criminal law (genocide denial, homophobic hate speech, sexism, anti-Roma burlesquing etc.).

The first part of the lecture will explore the recent (“Strasbourg”) developments on hate speech from the European Court of Human Rights. The second part will offer a fresh look into the previously under-theorized issue of hate speech in EU law. The attention will be brought towards by now the only “race” judgment from the European Court of Justice and attempt to criminalize hate speech in Brussels. Finally, the lecture will reconstruct the dominant European theory of freedom of expression via rhetorical and victim-centered constitutional analysis, bearing important ethical implications for European integration.

Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012
Time: 12:30 to 2:00 pm
Location: 305 York Lanes