The decriminalization of criminal contempt regarding the protection of freedom of expression

Abstract

Freedom of expression is a basic right of the democratic state. The crime of contempt, consubstantiated in the disrespect of a civil servant in the exercise of his function, or because of it, limits freedom of expression. The ratification of the American Convention on Human Rights by Brazil in 1992 imposed on the country the need for its internalization, in addition to observing the precedents established by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The national control of conventionality must be carried out to avoid divergences between national norms and the Inter-American Human Rights System.