Alberto Godioli
As stated by the European Court of Human Rights in the landmark judgment Handyside v. United Kingdom, freedom of expression should apply not only to information or ideas “that are favourably received […], but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population” (at 49). Within this framework, the Court has frequently stressed that satire – and humor at large – is “a form of artistic expression and social commentary and, by its inherent features of exaggeration and distortion of reality, naturally aims to provoke and agitate. Accordingly, any interference with an artist’s right to such expression must be examined with particular care” (Vereinigung Bildender Künstler v. Austria, at 33).
However, certain forms of disparaging humor are often at the center of complex legal cases, where judges have to navigate the grey areas between protected speech and unlawful expression (such as defamation or incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence). Combining human rights law with insights from the humanities and social sciences, this session will focus on the analysis of recent legal disputes revolving around derogatory jokes, cartoons or memes. Whilst mostly focusing on European jurisprudence, we will adopt a broader comparative perspective by also touching upon cases from different regions. Ultimately, exploring humor-related case law will allow us to reflect on how democratic societies can protect agonistic expression as a vital component of public debate, while at the same time countering harmful anti-democratic speech.
Short bio
Alberto Godioli is Associate Professor at the University of Groningen. His research focuses on humor and free speech jurisprudence from an interdisciplinary perspective, and he is principal investigator of a five-year project on this topic (‘Humor in Court’, NWO Vidi Grant, 2022-2027). In 2022 he founded ForHum: Forum for Humor and the Law – a global platform for lawyers, humor scholars, practitioners, and anyone interested in humor, freedom of expression and related legal matters. His publications on the subject include Humor and Free Speech: A Comparative Analysis of Global Case Law (with Jennifer Young; Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, 2023) and ‘Laughing Matters: Humor, Free Speech and Hate Speech at the European Court of Human Rights’ (with Jennifer Young and Matteo Fiori; International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 2022). In dialogue with experts from UNESCO, the European Court of Human Rights, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and ARTICLE 19 among others, Alberto has coordinated the publication of the toolkit What’s in a Joke? Assessing Humor in Free Speech Jurisprudence (with S. Jacques, J. Young and A. Matamoros-Fernández; Forum for Humor and the Law / Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, 2025).