Die Freiheit der politischen Meinungsäußerung

The subject of this thesis is the historical and present development of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression in the area of political speech in Austria and Great Britain and its comparative analysis. The three major areas of interest explored in this thesis are: 1. When, to which extent and in which areas of law did a constitutional protection of political speech develop? 2. To what extent was political speech protected by general constitutional provisions or principles concerning freedom of expression? 3. Is the modern approach of constitutional protection of political speech based on domestic roots or on the influence of other legal systems and the system created by the European Court of Human Rights? Prior to the legal analysis, the roots of the protection of political speech in state philosophy are investigated due to their central role in understanding both the development of legal protection and recent landmark decisions. In the Austrian constitutional context, one focus lies on the developments in the early constitutional period 1848-51, the creation of Article 13 of the Staatsgrundgesetz über die allgemeinen Rechte der Staatsbürger 1867 and its application by the Imperial Court (Reichsgericht) until 1918. After the creation of the Republic, the emphasis lies on the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court and the changes in the constitution concerning freedom of expression (especially the incorporation of Article 10 ECHR). In the British constitutional context, the focus in the period before the implementation of the Human Rights Act lies on the development of a constitutional principle of freedom of expression and the role of political speech therein. Prior to the Human Rights Act 1998, a major part of analysis are the developments in the area of the Common Law, especially the law of libels and the developments of privileges with the aim of ascertaining their constitutional relevance. In order to see if those developments in the English Common Law reflect British constitutional principles, relevant Scottish law is also looked into. Furthermore, the revolutionary Australian approach to political speech is analyzed. The impact of the Human Rights Act on the constitutional protection of political speech is the other major element of analysis of British law. Following the analysis of the general developments in both legal systems, some areas of special interest for the area of political speech are presented separately. In order to clarify the extent to which the European Court of Human Rights influenced both legal systems, its leading cases concerning political speech are also discussed. This is followed by a comparative analysis of the constitutional development in both legal systems in the area of interest. There it is demonstrated how two very different approaches to the protection political speech ended up with a very similar level (if not system) of protection due to common influence. Finally, a detailed outlook concerning the problems, possible developments and possibilities for both legal systems concerning the future protection of political speech is provided.