Use this url to cite ETD: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12259/36603
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Ar komercinės reklamos ribojimai nepažeidžia asmens saviraiškos laisvės?
Field of Science
Teisė / Law (S001)
Type of publication
type::text::thesis::master thesis
Title
Ar komercinės reklamos ribojimai nepažeidžia asmens saviraiškos laisvės?
Other Title
Does the restrictions on commercial advertising not violate freedom of expression?
Author
Selvianytė, Evelina |
Advisor
Extent
49 p.
Date Issued
2018-06-07
Abstract
Magistro baigiamajame darbe analizuojama komercinės reklamos ribojimų ir saviraiškos laisvės sankirta. Darbe aptariami reklamos ir saviraiškos laisvės sąvokų apibrėžimai, komercinės reklamos ribojimo pagrindai, saviraiškos laisvės komerciniais tikslais apsaugos apimtis. Analizuojama saviraiškos laisvės svarba Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucinio Tesimo doktrinoje, kur laikomasi principo, jog teisė laisvai reikšti savo įsitikinimus laikoma vienu iš demokratinės visuomenės pagrindų. Saviraiškos laisvė nėra absoliuti, ji ribojama ne tik įstatymais, bet ir vertybinėmis visuomenės nuostatomis, svarbu tai, jog vieno asmens laisvai reiškiami įsitikinimai ir idėjos negali įžeisti ar niekinti kito asmens. Saviraiškos laisvei, skleidžiamai komerciniais tikslais taikoma griežtesnė apsauga ir paliekama mažiau laisvės.
Didėjanti konkurencija skatina rinkos dalyvius, tiekiančius prekes ar paslaugas, reklamai pasitelkti būdus, kurie ne tik tinkamai atskleistų produkto ar paslaugos idėją vartotojams, bet ir skatintų pasirinkti būtent juos. Tačiau asmens saviraiškos laisvę komerciniais tikslais šiuo atveju riboja ne tik griežtesni reikalavimai, bet ir Reklamos įstatyme nustatyti pagrindai, kurių pažeidimas sąlygoja reklamos pripažinimą draudžiama. Atsiranda reklamos ribojimų ir saviraiškos laisvės sankirta.
Vienas iš pagrindų pripažinti reklamą pažeidžiančia įstatymą ar gerą moralę – religinių simbolių niekinimas. Darbe lyginamas religinių simbolių, kaip saviraiškos formos, naudojimas komercinėse reklamose vertinimas skirtingų kontinentinių valstybių teisėje. Jungtinėje Karalystėje, Italijoje ir Lietuvoje galiojantis reklamos teisinis reguliavimas formuluojamas panašiai, reklama negali pažeisti visuomenės moralės ir rimties, klaidinti, kelti panieką, ar agresiją, diskriminuoti ar įžeisti visuomenės grupę ar asmenį.
Lietuvos teismų praktikoje draudžiama reklama pripažinti atvejai nuo viešo asmens atvaizdo panaudojimo konkurento reklamoje be jo sutikimo iki į lietuvių kalbą neišverstos, Lietuvoje tiekiamos paslaugos, brošiūros pateikimo vartotojams. Darbe analizuojama ir visuomenėje didelio dėmesio sulaukusi UAB „Sekmadienis“ byla, kurioje dizaineris, reklamai pasitelkęs religinę simboliką savo saviraiškos laisvę gynė Europos Žmogaus teisių teisme ir sulaukė palankaus sprendimo. Įstatyme tiesiogiai neįvardintas ir neuždraustas religinės bendruomenės simbolikos naudojimas, neturint tikslo įžeisti, komercinės reklamos tikslais nepažeidžia visuomenės moralės normų. Komercinės reklamos ribojimai nepažeidžia asmens saviraiškos laisvės.
Didėjanti konkurencija skatina rinkos dalyvius, tiekiančius prekes ar paslaugas, reklamai pasitelkti būdus, kurie ne tik tinkamai atskleistų produkto ar paslaugos idėją vartotojams, bet ir skatintų pasirinkti būtent juos. Tačiau asmens saviraiškos laisvę komerciniais tikslais šiuo atveju riboja ne tik griežtesni reikalavimai, bet ir Reklamos įstatyme nustatyti pagrindai, kurių pažeidimas sąlygoja reklamos pripažinimą draudžiama. Atsiranda reklamos ribojimų ir saviraiškos laisvės sankirta.
Vienas iš pagrindų pripažinti reklamą pažeidžiančia įstatymą ar gerą moralę – religinių simbolių niekinimas. Darbe lyginamas religinių simbolių, kaip saviraiškos formos, naudojimas komercinėse reklamose vertinimas skirtingų kontinentinių valstybių teisėje. Jungtinėje Karalystėje, Italijoje ir Lietuvoje galiojantis reklamos teisinis reguliavimas formuluojamas panašiai, reklama negali pažeisti visuomenės moralės ir rimties, klaidinti, kelti panieką, ar agresiją, diskriminuoti ar įžeisti visuomenės grupę ar asmenį.
Lietuvos teismų praktikoje draudžiama reklama pripažinti atvejai nuo viešo asmens atvaizdo panaudojimo konkurento reklamoje be jo sutikimo iki į lietuvių kalbą neišverstos, Lietuvoje tiekiamos paslaugos, brošiūros pateikimo vartotojams. Darbe analizuojama ir visuomenėje didelio dėmesio sulaukusi UAB „Sekmadienis“ byla, kurioje dizaineris, reklamai pasitelkęs religinę simboliką savo saviraiškos laisvę gynė Europos Žmogaus teisių teisme ir sulaukė palankaus sprendimo. Įstatyme tiesiogiai neįvardintas ir neuždraustas religinės bendruomenės simbolikos naudojimas, neturint tikslo įžeisti, komercinės reklamos tikslais nepažeidžia visuomenės moralės normų. Komercinės reklamos ribojimai nepažeidžia asmens saviraiškos laisvės.
The topic of research. Rapid market growth boosts competition and forces providers of goods or services to look for ways to encourage consumers to choose precisely them. It uses various methods, one of which is commercial activity. In this context, advertising cannot be considered solely as an element of competition between businesses. Advertisements are increasingly becoming not only an instrument for providing information on goods and services to consumers, but also a way for the provider to realize his/her ideas. As one of the aims of commercial advertising is to influence consumers by encouraging them to purchase goods or services, in order to protect the public interest, the restrictions are imposed by the law and the market participants must follow them. Often, the provisions of the law are unclear or too strict, which results in contradiction between restrictions on commercial advertising and freedom of expression. The problem of contradiction between commercial advertising restrictions and freedom of expression is currently particularly relevant in Lithuania. The restrictions provided in the Law on Advertising of the Republic of Lithuania are becoming the basis for declaring the increasing number of cases of advertising as illegal, although the provisions of the law are not sufficiently detailed, and many of the concepts mentioned in the legal acts do not have an uniform definition, therefore the courts apply the criteria of an evaluative nature. The relevance of the topic is also confirmed by the cases of high public awareness, which encourage the discussion on the boundaries of freedom of expression. It is also confirmed by the latest decisions of national and international courts in cases where the freedom of expression of persons advertising goods or services is restricted on the basis of advertising restrictions. Some disputes on advertising ban (which arose because of the use of religious symbols in advertising) in Lithuania were transferred to the European Court of Human Rights where a person who defended his/her freedom of expression won the case.
The object of research is the legal regulation of commercial advertising restrictions and protection of freedom of expression for commercial purposes.
The objective of research is to analyze and determine whether the restrictions applied to commercial advertising in the Republic of Lithuania are too restrictive and violate the person's freedom of expression.
The methods of research. In order to analyze and determine whether the restrictions applied to commercial advertising do not violate the person's freedom of expression, the descriptive, analytical, comparative methods and methods of general principles and summary were used.
The results of research
In order to achieve the objective of the thesis, the first step was to define the concept of advertising and to identify its characteristics which distinguish it from the other information.
It has been established that advertising is publicly disseminated, pre-ordered information aimed at informing the public about goods and services placed on the market and encouraging consumers to use or purchase them. The essential feature which distinguishes the advertising from the general freely available information is the specific purpose of influencing the consumer in such a way that he/she purchases goods or uses advertised services.
The next step was to analyze the legal regulation of commercial advertising in the Republic of Lithuania. The exhaustive list of the grounds established in the Law on Advertising of the Republic of Lithuania when the advertisement is prohibited was discussed. After discussing the provisions of the law and analyzing the examples, it is determined that the most uncertainty and legal disputes arise precisely because of the violation of the principles of public morality, discrimination in advertising, but the most relevant and unclear provision in today's law is considered to be a prohibition on despising the religious symbols of religious communities registered in Lithuania.
Thirdly, in order to find out whether restrictions on commercial advertising do not violate the person's right to freedom of expression, it is expedient to define both what is considered as freedom of expression and what kind of protection applies to it. It has been established that while expression for advertising purposes is less protected, it is not considered to be an exception and is fully protected by provisions indicated in the Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Fourthly, after reviewing the key concepts and regulations, the cases relating to the incomplete and insufficiently clear advertising ban restricting freedom of expression are discussed. The main focus here is on the most current basis of advertising restriction - the use of religious symbols for commercial advertising purposes, which are not sufficiently clearly regulated in the Law on Advertising, and because of this uncertainty conflicts arise - people using religious symbolism in their advertisements claim that they do not seek to degrade or offend believers, members of the religious community often criticize depiction of any religious-related images in commercial advertisements and complain about this to the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority.
Fifthly, the evaluation of the use of religious symbols as a form of expression in commercial advertisements in different constitutional states has been analyzed and examples of case law have been presented. As a result of comparative analysis and comparing the legal regulation in United Kingdom, Italy and Lithuania, one can see that it is similar in all these countries. In all the national laws discussed, one can see the requirements of a similar wording - advertising can not be misleading, it can not cause panic or threat to the public, it can not disturb, offend the interests of the society or its individuals. In both the United Kingdom and Italy, a lot of attention is being paid to protect the impact of advertising on children and adolescents. The interests of more vulnerable groups are also more protected in order to protect them from discrimination based on sex, race, religion and age. The Advertising Code of the United Kingdom requires that all information provided in the advertisement is based on evidence.
Finally, the thesis discusses the practice of the Lithuanian courts, analyzes the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of UAB "Sekmadienis" v. Lithuania. It was concluded that the use of religious symbols without intent to offend is not indicated and prohibited by the Law; therefore usage of them in commercial advertisements does not violate the norms of public morality.
The hypothesis which was raised in the Master's thesis - restrictions on commercial advertising violate the person's freedom of expression – do not proved to be true.
The object of research is the legal regulation of commercial advertising restrictions and protection of freedom of expression for commercial purposes.
The objective of research is to analyze and determine whether the restrictions applied to commercial advertising in the Republic of Lithuania are too restrictive and violate the person's freedom of expression.
The methods of research. In order to analyze and determine whether the restrictions applied to commercial advertising do not violate the person's freedom of expression, the descriptive, analytical, comparative methods and methods of general principles and summary were used.
The results of research
In order to achieve the objective of the thesis, the first step was to define the concept of advertising and to identify its characteristics which distinguish it from the other information.
It has been established that advertising is publicly disseminated, pre-ordered information aimed at informing the public about goods and services placed on the market and encouraging consumers to use or purchase them. The essential feature which distinguishes the advertising from the general freely available information is the specific purpose of influencing the consumer in such a way that he/she purchases goods or uses advertised services.
The next step was to analyze the legal regulation of commercial advertising in the Republic of Lithuania. The exhaustive list of the grounds established in the Law on Advertising of the Republic of Lithuania when the advertisement is prohibited was discussed. After discussing the provisions of the law and analyzing the examples, it is determined that the most uncertainty and legal disputes arise precisely because of the violation of the principles of public morality, discrimination in advertising, but the most relevant and unclear provision in today's law is considered to be a prohibition on despising the religious symbols of religious communities registered in Lithuania.
Thirdly, in order to find out whether restrictions on commercial advertising do not violate the person's right to freedom of expression, it is expedient to define both what is considered as freedom of expression and what kind of protection applies to it. It has been established that while expression for advertising purposes is less protected, it is not considered to be an exception and is fully protected by provisions indicated in the Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Fourthly, after reviewing the key concepts and regulations, the cases relating to the incomplete and insufficiently clear advertising ban restricting freedom of expression are discussed. The main focus here is on the most current basis of advertising restriction - the use of religious symbols for commercial advertising purposes, which are not sufficiently clearly regulated in the Law on Advertising, and because of this uncertainty conflicts arise - people using religious symbolism in their advertisements claim that they do not seek to degrade or offend believers, members of the religious community often criticize depiction of any religious-related images in commercial advertisements and complain about this to the State Consumer Rights Protection Authority.
Fifthly, the evaluation of the use of religious symbols as a form of expression in commercial advertisements in different constitutional states has been analyzed and examples of case law have been presented. As a result of comparative analysis and comparing the legal regulation in United Kingdom, Italy and Lithuania, one can see that it is similar in all these countries. In all the national laws discussed, one can see the requirements of a similar wording - advertising can not be misleading, it can not cause panic or threat to the public, it can not disturb, offend the interests of the society or its individuals. In both the United Kingdom and Italy, a lot of attention is being paid to protect the impact of advertising on children and adolescents. The interests of more vulnerable groups are also more protected in order to protect them from discrimination based on sex, race, religion and age. The Advertising Code of the United Kingdom requires that all information provided in the advertisement is based on evidence.
Finally, the thesis discusses the practice of the Lithuanian courts, analyzes the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of UAB "Sekmadienis" v. Lithuania. It was concluded that the use of religious symbols without intent to offend is not indicated and prohibited by the Law; therefore usage of them in commercial advertisements does not violate the norms of public morality.
The hypothesis which was raised in the Master's thesis - restrictions on commercial advertising violate the person's freedom of expression – do not proved to be true.
Language
Lietuvių / Lithuanian (lt)
Defended
Taip / Yes
Access Rights
Atviroji prieiga / Open Access