STANDARDS FOR RESTRICTIONS ON INFORMATION RIGHTS: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL DIMENSION

Abstract

The article examines the standards for restricting information rights, in particular in martial law, in the international and national dimensions. Theoretical conclusions are drawn and proposals for promising legislation on the topic of the study are considered. It is emphasized that the rapid development of information and communication technologies and their implementation contributed to the emergence, formation and development of the institution of information rights. The introduction of the martial law legal regime in Ukraine has actualized the issue of ensuring the implementation and restriction of information rights. It is determined that the establishment of unified rules (standards) for restricting information rights from the standpoint of the rule of law based on the analysis of the norms of international acts and acts of national legislation and the practice of their application, as guidelines in finding a balance between public and private interest, is important for Ukrainian society, especially in martial law. Based on the analysis of international and national legal acts, guidelines are established, the implementation of which allows for the restriction of information rights in martial law, namely: the presence of an appropriate law; indication of the term of restriction of rights; proportionality, legal certainty, controllability; establishing the purpose of the restriction of rights; justification of the application of the restriction of rights as the only necessary permissible way to achieve the goal; democratic methods of introducing restrictions; mandatory informing international organizations and society about the reasons and terms of the restriction of information rights. It is argued that the set of these requirements can be considered standards, universal rules for introducing restrictions on information rights in democratic states, the specification of which at the national level should take place in special laws. In the process of research, certain problems were identified regarding the specified topic that need to be resolved. It is necessary to continue working on the elaboration and harmonization of concepts used to regulate human rights, in particular restrictions on information rights. The absence of legal terminology defined by law leads to a variety of interpretations of legal norms and prevents achieving the desired result. It is noted that it is important to pay attention to the level of legal technique, which is an indicator of the professional skills of a lawyer. Inconsistency of legal norms, their competition, the presence of value judgments, and half-heartedness make the norm of law weak, generate disrespect for the law, and form imperfect, inconsistent, and contradictory legislation. The presence of legal certainty in laws regarding the content and scope of restrictions on information rights prevents violations of human rights. It has been established that failure to resolve these issues poses risks of weakening democratic institutions of civil society on freedom of thought and speech, restricting access to objective information on current issues, and introducing elements of censorship. Legislation should contain guarantees for the implementation of limited information rights in order to prevent encroachments on the essence of rights or their abolition. It is important to maintain a balance of public and private interest, which will contribute to the harmonization of relations between public authorities and the individual.