SPECIAL COLLECTION OF THE CASE LAW ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION lic order, public health or morals.46 It duly prohibits, in article 5, an abuse of the recognized human rights to destroy any of them or to limit them to a greater extent than is provided for in the Covenant. States have the obligation to respect and ensure the right to freedom of expression, without distinction of any kind.47 At the regional level, the right to freedom of expression is proclaimed – in not dissimilar words – in the treaties, adopted by intergovernmental organizations. Those include the European Convention on Human Rights (Council of Europe, 1950, Arts. 10, 17), the American Convention on Human Rights (Organization of American States, 1969, Arts. 13, 19), the African Charter (African Union, 1981, Art. 9), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000, Arts. 11, 52, 53), the Arab Charter on Human Rights (League of Arab States, 2004, Art. 30, Art. 32), and the Declaration on Human Rights adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN, 2012, Art. 21). Freedom of expression and freedom of information are not understood as absolute rights and may have certain acceptable limitations, which can be summarized in the principles of legality, legitimacy, and proportionality. “Therefore, the issue about justifications in the field of Internet shutdowns does not concern the block of the Internet per se but the assessment on its application in practice.”48 In other words, “[a]ny restrictions on the operation of information dissemination systems must conform with the tests for restrictions on freedom of expression.”49 These principles are to be applied by legislative and regulatory institutions, as well as in individual decisions by competent authorities and courts. “The onus to show that restrictions comply with those conditions is on the State seeking to restrict rights.” 50 The widely-recognized “three-part test” for whether restrictions on freedom of expression are legally justified includes the following elements. Legality. Any restriction must be provided by law. The law must be precisely formulated —to allow individuals to regulate their conduct accordingly—, and it must be made publicly available. 51“The law ensures tight control over the scope of the restriction and effective judicial review to prevent any abuse of power. The law [must] indicate with sufficient clarity the scope of discretion conferred on public authorities with regard to the implementation of restrictions and the manner of exercise of this discretion.” 52 46 See: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights. 47 Internet shutdowns: trends, causes, legal implications and impacts on a range of human rights Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 13 May 2022, A/HRC/50/55, Para 10, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ ahrc5055-internet-shutdowns-trends-causes-legal-implications-and-impacts. 48 Giovanni De Gregorio and Nicole Stremlau, Internet Shutdowns and the Limits of Law / International Journal of Communication 14(2020), p 4232. 49 General comment No. 34, para. 34, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-comment-no34-article-19-freedoms-opinion-and. 50 Internet shutdowns: trends, causes, legal implications and impacts on a range of human rights. Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 13 May 2022, A/HRC/50/55, Para 12, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ ahrc5055-internet-shutdowns-trends-causes-legal-implications-and-impacts. 51 Internet shutdowns: trends, causes, legal implications and impacts on a range of human rights Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 13 May 2022, A/HRC/50/55, Para 11, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ ahrc5055-internet-shutdowns-trends-causes-legal-implications-and-impacts. 52 Recommendation CM/Rec(2016)5[1] of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to member States on Internet freedom (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 13 April 2016 at the 1253rd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies), https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/ result_details.aspx?ObjectId=09000016806415fa 15