"Defamation of Religions v. Freedom of Expression: Finding the Balance in a Democratic Society"

Maxim Grinberg, Defamation of Religions v. Freedom of Expression: Finding the Balance in a Democratic Society, 18 Sri Lanka J. Int'l L. 197 (2006).

This is a short student Note written just as the Danish Cartoon Controversy was erupting. It addresses, and provides a brief background, of the U.N.'s "defamation of religion" resolutions. After a short overview of international freedom of expression guarantees and some domestic infringements of those guarantees under the guise of blasphemy or religious hatred legislation, the Note argues that prohibiting "defamation of religion" is inconsistent with international law unless the resolutions are revised. The revisions suggested, however, are very general and rather vague ("the Resolution should require States to comply with international law", "the Resolution should make it clear that the judgment of whether a particular expression constitutes defamation of religion should be objective", etc.). As a student Note, it's a okay piece of writing, but contains nothing that can't be found in more recent and substantive articles elsewhere.