Unit 2 civil rights

Методические рекомендации no работе с материалом:

1. Изучить данную специальную лексику.

2. Тексты 2.1 - 2.3 рекомендуются для чтения, понимания и полного письменного перевода в аудитории с последующим обсуждением вариантов перевода в составе подгрупп и группы в целом.

3. Тексты 2.4 - 2.5 рекомендуются для чтения, понимания и устного перевода под руководством преподавателя с последующим, самостоятель­ным оформлением результатов перевода в письменном виде.

4. Текст 2.6 рекомендуется для сокращенных видов письменного перевода Preamble

A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury.

Examples of civil rights are freedom of speech, press, and assembly; the right to vote; freedom from involuntary servitude; and the right to equality in public

places. Discrimination occurs when the civil rights of an individual are denied or interfered with because of their membership in a particular group or class. Statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination based on a person's race, sex, religion, age, previous condition of servitude, physical limitation, national origin, and in some instances sexual preference.

1. Freedom of speech.

The topic of free speech is one of the most contentious issues in liberal societies. If the liberty to express oneself is not highly valued, as has often been the case, there is no problem: freedom of expression is simply curtailed in favor of other values. Free speech becomes a volatile issue when it is highly valued because only then do the limitations placed upon it become controversial. The first thing to note in any sensible discussion of freedom of speech is that it will have to be limited. Every society places some limits on the exercise of speech because speech always takes place within a context of competing values. In this sense, Stanley Fish is correct when he says that there is no such thing as free speech. Free speech is simply a useful term to focus our attention on a particular form of human interaction and the phrase is not meant to suggest that speech should never be interfered with. As Fish puts it, “free speech in short, is not an independent value but a political prize”. No society has yet existed where speech has not been limited to some extent. A struggle always takes place between the competing demands of liberty and authority, and we cannot have the latter without the former.

2. Freedom of the press

Freedom of the press implies that all people should have the right to express themselves in writing or in any other way of expression of personal opinion or creativity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers ”

This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific research (known as scientific freedom), publishing, press and printing the depth to which these laws are entrenched in a country’s legal system can go as far down as its constitution. The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to media and individuals.

Besides legal definitions, some non-governmental organizations use other criteria to judge the level of press freedom around the world:

• Reporters Without Borders considers the number of journalists murdered, expelled or harassed, and the existence of a stale monopoly on TV and radio, as well as the existence of censorship and self-censorship in the media, and the overall independence of media as well as the difficulties that foreign reporters may face.

• The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) uses the tools of journalism to help journalists by tracking press freedom issues through independent research, fact-finding missions, and firsthand contacts in the field, including local working journalists in countries around the world. CPJ shares information on breaking cases with other press freedom organizations worldwide through the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global e-mail network. CPJ also tracks journalist deaths and detentions. CPJ staff applies strict criteria for each case; researchers independently investigate and verify the circumstances behind each death or imprisonment.

• Freedom House likewise studies the more general political and economic environments of each nation in order to determine whether relationships of dependence exist that limit in practice the level of press freedom that might exist in theory. So the conccpl of independence of the press is one closely linked with the concept of press freedom.