Speech related to National Security: Espionage and Official Secrets Laws

Laws providing for the secrecy of some government information are ubiquitous across democracies and authoritarian regimes alike. But such laws can be used to punish state officials, journalists and ordinary citizens reporting on matters of public interest. And a striking feature of this area of the law is that leading democracies that are generally considered protective of speech are among the governments with particularly harsh official secrets laws and practices. This report considers state practice, international standards governing the use of official secrets laws and recommendations as to how these laws should be drafted and applied to comply with international law.

Speech Related to National Security: Espionage and Official Secrets Laws is an extracted chapter of Freedom of Speech in International Law, edited by Lord David Neuberger of Abbotsbury and Ms Amal Clooney and published by Oxford University Press in January 2024. It is authored by Ms Amal Clooney – inaugural Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom, and Ms Alice Gardoll. Ms Alice Gardoll is also the Assistant Editor of the text. The full text can be purchased in hard copy or as an e-book here.

Freedom of Speech in International Law outlines the minimum protections for speech enshrined in international law, focusing on four types of laws that are being weaponised to silence the press and independent voices: laws regulating defamatory or insulting speech, laws regulating false speech, laws regulating hate speech and laws regulating national security. The book provides examples of where states are falling short and makes