Comparative Legal Analysis of Ukrainian Regulation of Hate Speech in the Media

A Comparative Legal Analysis of Ukrainian Regulation of Hate Speech in the Media was commissioned by the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, upon official request of the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, and prepared by Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, Canada, and an independent media and freedom of expression legal expert. The analysis indicates that when it comes to protection for freedom of expression in Ukraine, the constitutional test for restrictions on different rights is largely in line with international standards. However, it does allow for restrictions “in the interests of” protecting various values, rather than the far more stringent international standard which requires restrictions to be “necessary” to protect the values listed. The analysis also offers a number of recommendations that would ensure compliance of the Ukrainian legislation with the OSCE media freedom commitments and international standards.