Thesis:a Study On The Right Of Communication Freedom And Communication Privacy And The Corresponding National Obligations

Communication freedom refers to citizens owe the right to have the freedom to choose communication mode, communication object and content of communication; communication privacy refers to any individual or organization may not peep, eavesdrop or adopt all the contents of citizens and other people’s mails, telegraphs, phone conversations, E-mails and other communication carriers in other ways without permission. Communication freedom and communication privacy are two aspects of the generalized right to freedom of correspondence, the two are interdependent and inseparable. The main viewpoints of the scholars also think the right of communication freedom and communication privacy is a liberty right, and the protection of communication freedom and communication privacy under the law belongs to the scope of personal freedom. The right of communication freedom and communication privacy not only safeguard people’s physical and mental freedom, but also embodies the human dignity. It is one of the basic human rights. The right of communication freedom and communication privacy plays an important role in the rights system. It is also closely related to the right to free speech,the right of personal information self-determination and the right of privacy,etc.Due to the right of communication freedom and communication privacy includes two aspects, its connotation is very rich. And its extension is also expanding with the development of the increasingly updated information society and communication technologies. Therefore, the legal protection for the right of communication freedom and communication privacy is very complex. Although our constitution article 40 confirmed our citizens shall enjoy the right of communication freedom and communication privacy, the constitution as the basic law, after all, is programmatic, usually only outlines the provisions in principle for fundamental rights, lacks the detailed content. When the right of communication freedom and communication privacy is violated, it is difficult for people to obtain relief through applying the Constitution directly. The protection of the right of communication freedom and communication privacy also depends on its specific provisions made by general law. Under the background of the era of network, the right of communication freedom and communication privacy is facing realistic threats, including traditional threats and emerging threats. Personal power alone cannot protect the right of communication freedom and communication privacy from infringements. This paper mainly discusses national obligations corresponding to the right of communication freedom and communication privacy and the legislative proposals which can safeguard the national obligations’ fulfill.The first part expounds the current interpretations of the right of communication freedom and communication privacy. This part analyses the underlying contents of the right of communication freedom and communication privacy from the four levels: the "communication" and "correspondence" meaning analysis, the rights’ concept, the rights’ scope and the rights’nature, foreshadowing the next discussion about the contents of the national obligations.The second part starting from the social background of the Internet age, concretely introduces the traditional threats and emerging threats to the right of communication freedom and communication privacy, reflecting the main problems we encounter in the current protection of the right, laying a foundation for the following countermeasures against the existing problems.The third part firstly illustrates the practical significances of the state guarantees the communication freedom and privacy. Then contacts the theoretical basis and legal basis of the corresponding national obligations to fully discuss our state have national obligations on protecting the right of communication freedom and communication privacy, and talks about the specific contents of the corresponding national obligations.From the aspects of system construction, the last part of this paper puts forward several legislative proposals up to ensure the fulfill of the national obligations. First, we should improve the unconstitutional censorship of our country and change the existing Prison Law provisions of Article 47. Second, we should clarify that statutory authorities must follow some principles when they limit citizens’ communication freedom and privacy in our Criminal Procedure Law. Third, we should modify theAdministrative Procedural Law and the State Compensation Law, allowing people advocate indirect material losses and mental damages caused by the infringement in state compensation when required. Forth, we should set the right of communication freedom and communication privacy in our Civil Law as a separate and specific personality right to protect. Last but not least, our state should perfect the Social Security Act, increase communication security fund investment, accelerate the construction of communication support facilities, to guarantee the realization of the right of communication freedom and communication privacy.