Week 3 - CommEthics.pdf

WEEK 3: Perspective of Human Rights and Freedom, and Laws Lecturer: Dr Nena Padilla-Valdez INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME: 10:15-10:30: Explain the concepts & types of freedom, morality of freedom, and protection of freedom. 10:30-11:30: Discuss the Human rights: Basis of...

WEEK 3: Perspective of Human Rights and Freedom, and Laws Lecturer: Dr Nena Padilla-Valdez INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME: 10:15-10:30: Explain the concepts & types of freedom, morality of freedom, and protection of freedom. 10:30-11:30: Discuss the Human rights: Basis of the Freedom of Speech/Expression (FOS/E) 11:30-11:45: Break 11:45-12:15: Examine the nature and concept of Open Justice for professional communication Practitioners (PCPs) OJ Relative Interpretation (Contextual Perspectives) APPERCEPTION: ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE?  FREEDOM MORALITY OF FREEDOM Is the right and the capability of Is an Intrinsic Right for human people to determine their own beings. actions in a community, from which Refers to basic freedom which relies full development of human on how the government sees and potentially is provided. evaluates public interests. Key point: It preserves public interest Is the power or right to act, speak or as an aspect of public society’s think in the absence of culture. impediments. CONCEPTS OF FREEDOM Freedom is not absolute; people harmonize obligation/duties toward society. All fundamental rights and freedom must be subjected to certain limitations such as the following: Public Order National Security The Preservation of Moral Values Respect for the rights of fellowmen.  CONCEPTS OF FREEDOM Humans cannot be allowed to live freely without limitation/discipline/regulation. Only freedom of thought, conscience and opinion are subjected to no real restriction (affecting only oneself)  HUMAN RIGHTS CONCEPTS A RIGHT IS... A value needed by Implies obligation a person to protect of another himself, his life- community, not to improve and inhibit action. develop it.  HUMAN RIGHT IS... Concept related to every race, religion, belief, culture and country: the aspiration of human kind to achieve happiness/safety in life and self- protection Encompasses BASIC rights and freedoms to which people are entitled. Is a moral right that can be validly invoked by any person at anytime (Alexander, 2005, P.3) STAGES OF HUMAN RIGHTS Human dignity Collective Rights Espoused economic, social and cultural rights; capitalism vs individual freedom (e.g exploitation & colonialism) Espoused civil and political rights; non-interference efforts by the government, liberalism, democratic approach.  VIDEO CLIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz7ebFGBe0o In Thailand in 2021, a woman known only as Anchan was sentenced to 87 years in prison for posting on social media audio clips from a podcast criticizing the monarchy.  FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION The term used frequently when discussing law, professional communication and ethics. Scope/Context of expression: - Concept of freedom of expression - Its influence on the communication profession Challenge: Are the current structures capable of dealing with the ethical problems of the 21st century? FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS A HUMAN RIGHT... But it is not an absolute right. It must be balanced against other individual rights and community interests. Here are some limitations on an individual’s right of speech: Everyone shall have the right to hold opinion without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression: seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, or in writng, or in print, and in the form of art, or through other media of his choice. The exercise of the right in #2 carries with it special duties and responsibilities hence it may subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as, are provided by law and are necessary: 3.1 For respect for the rights and reputation of others; 3.1 For the protection of national security, or public order, or public health and morals. Note: Reasonable limitations can be imposed on FOE by governments seeking to protect other rights and interests both individual & collective. It can be legitimately curtailed to promote RIGHTS to food, shelter, security, and education. RIGHTS TENSION OBLIGATION PROTECTION OF COMMUNICATION RIGHTS IS A COMPLEX PROCESS OF RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES, OF WHICH FREEDOM TO COMMUNICATE IS JUST ONE.  JEREMY BENTHAM One of the founders of utilitarianism stressed: “Where there is no publicity, there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the surest of all guards against impartiality. It keeps the judge himself, while trying under the law.” (AC 417, at 437) BRAINSTORM: Major headlines of International, Regional, National, and Local Media (e.g politics, sports, health, etc) CNN BBC Strait Times Al Jazeera Fox News World News RTB Scoop Major headlines of International, Regional, National, and Local Media (e.g politics, sports, health, etc) PRINCIPLE OF OPEN JUSTICE (OJ) Justice must be SEEN TO be DONE. Their outcomes arrived at a FAIR PROCEDURE. In order for justice to be SEEN and to be DONE, a FAIR-MINDED observer should reasonably expect the following: (a) All people are treated equally before the law. (b) Everyone is entitled to fair and public hearing. (c) The hearing is conducted by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal. (d) The hearing is open to the public and the press (unless there are overriding considerations (e.g. specific statutory provisions that limit public & press access to court). Court procedures ensure Courts prevent fairness in accordance with the rules of NATURAL abuses of process. JUSTICE IN THE PRACTICE OF Courts publish reasons for their decisions, OJ Court maintains including explanations. public confidence. Court take accountable of public interest considerations when enforcing the law. Example: https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/08/politics/annotated-text-copy-trump-indictment-dg/  OJ: A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL PRINCIPLE Open Justice: Justice must be seen to be done. Dimension 1. All people are treated equally before the law. Standards of proof = beyond reasonable doubt (criminal); balance of probabilities (civil) Dimension 4: Rules of natural Dimension 5: Rights to legal Dimension 2: Court justice. representations. proceedings should -Each party should have the -Statutory provisions. -No general right at common law but be open to the public opportunity to present their case. derived from the right of fair trial (Dietrich, -Independent decision maker. 1992) -Decision based on relevant Dimension 6: Presumption of Dimension 3: Court consideration. Innocence proceedings should -Consideration restricted to evidence In criminal matters, anyone charged with an be reported publicly. before the court. offence is presumed innocent; guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Dimension 7: Judicial Independence Neither the parliament nor the executive (nor anyone else including the media) can influence or determine the outcome of a particular case before the court. This principle ensures that judges are able to act impartially and to make up their minds about the merits of the case.  THUS, OJ SERVES 3 KEY PURPOSES (MARTIN, 2007) 1 2 3 Ensures that courts are -Fair and accurate reports Publicity (in the form of Daniel Gallego accountable to the public, of court proceedings (fair & fair and public reports) being open to public scrutiny accurate journalistic allows people to review (professional communication reports). evidence before the practitioners play an -Helps impartiality in court, thereby exposing important role in facilitating decision making. witness testimony to public scrutiny, providing fair -Free from interference or public scrutiny (public and balanced information to Lorna Alvarado a perception of confidence) the public. interference.  IN SUMMARY: KEY POINTS CHALLENGES Open justice use legal principles Professional Communication that is taken into account when Practitioners (PCPs) should be OJ knowledgeable. administering the law, but it is also a principle that has given risen to Note: While the court acknowledges many specific laws. It illustrates the importance of PCPs in that there are multiple dimensions facilitating OJ, the principle does to the concept of Open Justice. not give rise to special rights of access for the media. TUTORIAL  GROUP 1: SEARCH & DISCUSS The Academic Freedom Monitoring Project of the Scholars at Risk Network reports that for the 12 months leading up to May 27, 2022, there were 241 attacks on scholars, students and universities, including 98 killings, acts of violence, or disappearances, and 54 cases of imprisonment while 30 scholars lost their position.China, Russia, Turkey, Iran and Myanmar are responsible for the majority of these cases Video clip 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGdL4f8_J80  GROUP 1 Watch this video and search for 2 other related/similar videos to grasp the case/story background at full length. Deliberate on the following questions. After which, consolidate your group answers and upload them on MT tutorial Week 3. 1. Given the consequences of this case, is academic freedom espoused by the precept of human rights? Explain why or why not? 2. Guided by the multi-dimensionality of open justice, what dimension could be most feasible for the victims to leverage their rights and seek justice? Ground your discussion. 3. What ethical theory/ies have not been considered/respected in this case? 4. As budding professional communication practitioners, how can ‘self- regulation’ be a professional and ethical tool in the workplace? Explain.  GROUP 2: SEARCH & DISCUSS Novak Djokovic, the world’s top-ranking tennis slayer at the start of 2022, was looking forward to the Australian Open, held in January. He had won it in each of the past 3 years. One more victory would have given him a record 21 major titles, breaking a three-way tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Australian government, however, requires incoming visitors to show proof of vaccination, and Djokovic had previously refused to reveal vaccination status, calling it “ a private matter and an inappropriate inquiry.”  GROUP 2: SEARCH & DISCUSS Djokovic travelled to Melbourne to play in the Australian Open, claiming that he had medical grounds for an exemption from the requirement to be vaccinated. The Australian Minister for Immigration rejected his grounds for exemption and ordered him deported, saying that his presence in the country posed a risk to public health. In a marathon five set final match, Nadal triumphed over Daniil Medvedev and became the first person ever to win 21 grand slam titles. Video clip 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF8q848gwdo  GROUP 2 Watch this video and search for 2 other related/similar videos to grasp the case/story background at full length. Deliberate on the following questions. After which, consolidate your group answers and upload them on MT tutorial task 2. 1. Given this case, can the precept of human right explain Djokovic’s ‘personal choice’ of rejecting vaccination? Why or why not? 2. The Australian Minister for Immigration rejected Djokovic’s grounds for exemption. Why would a legal policy overrule one’s freedom in this case? Ground your discussion. 3. What ethical theory/ies could explain the Immigration’s decision? 4. As budding professional communication practitioners, how does ‘self-regulation’ be a professional and ethical tool in the workplace? Explain.