Round Table on Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights

April 28,  2026

Round Table on Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights

The Institute, supported by the Universitas Foundation, held a closed round-table discussion on the occasion of the release of IMME board member Natalie Alkiviadou’s book ‘Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights’.

The discussion centred on the difficult and contested area between the safeguarding of the right to freedom of expression and extending that protection not only to opinions which are well received but also to those deemed offensive, shocking, or disturbing. The book argues that the European Court of Human Rights has adopted an overly restrictive approach to hate speech, which fails to provide adequate protection of the right to freedom of expression. The discussion explored some of the inconsistencies when it comes to the treatment of some forms of ‘hate speech’ versus others. Viewing the ECHR as a ‘living instrument,’ Alikiviadou’s book places its analysis within the current state of affairs vis-à-vis the handling of hate speech, particularly online, by European countries, the European Union itself and social media platforms, actions which the author argues are contributing to a free speech demise.