A LIBERDADE DE EXPRESSÃO NO ÂMBITO JORNALÍSTICO: A CENSURA COMO ULTIMA RATIO À LUZ DO ORDENAMENTO JURÍDICO BRASILEIRO

Abstract

It is unquestionable the importance of preserving freedom of expression, a fundamental right that is vehemently guaranteed by the Brazilian legal system, including here the Constitution of the Republic, the American Convention on Human Rights and special laws, given the close relationship between freedom of expression and the democratic regime. The justification for this work lies in the fact that, although firmly ensured in positive norms, freedom of expression finds several obstacles to its consolidation in the country's social-legal mentality, which, while preserving an execrable legacy of dark times for public freedoms, continues to see censorship as the only existing means to combat possible excesses resulting from the exercise of this fundamental right. In view of this, the objective is to carry out a historical and legal analysis regarding freedom of expression, with an emphasis on freedom of the press and freedom of information, given the parameters set out in Reclamation n° 22.328/RJ, by Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, outlining the grounds for censorship, understood as an extreme limitation of freedom of expression, to be effectively raised to the ultima ratio in Brazilian law, opening space for alternative measures to be accepted by the Judiciary to concretize the balance of interests. The deductive research method was used, using literary, jurisprudential and legal analysis to investigate how these alternative measures have the ability to equate both freedom of expression and the very personal right achieved, promoting consideration and harmonization, at converting censorship as a last resort to be used in the specific case.