Right to freedom of expression: the relativization of the right to freedom of expression by the Federal Supreme Court

The right to freedom of expression and thought is a topic that arouses several discussions, due to its importance within the Democratic Rule of Law. Thus, that right finds its greatest foundation in the principle of human dignity, since it is considered an essential tool of man in the face of the State's actions. Therefore, the right to freedom of expression has a constitutional provision in the list of fundamental rights of the Federal Constitution of 1988. Therefore, this study sought, through a bibliographical and documentary research, to study the Federal Constitution of 1988, especially article 5 in the with respect to fundamental rights and their applicability in the legal system, as well as to identify the possibility of the right to freedom of expression to be relativized by the Supreme Court. It also sought to verify which mechanism is used to weigh the fundamental rights in conflict, and finally to verify whether the relativization of said right constitutes a violation of human dignity. It was found that the Supreme Court can relativize the right to freedom of expression, by valuing conflicting rights for reasonableness and proportionality, making fundamental rights effective and, consequently, giving the citizen the autonomy to develop in the social environment of free and democratic form.