Freedom of Expression under a Transformation of the Separation of Powers (<Special Feature>Situation of Social Communication and Transformation of Media)

Abstract

The separation of powers, which is essential to the modern constitution, playing an important role of protecting individual freedoms from the abuse of governmental powers, has been under a transformation in various aspects. Among remarkable developmonts are corpulence of administrative power and integration of three powers. These phenomena cause malfunction of checks-and-balances system among three powers. Under this change of circumstances, one of the ways to protect individual freedoms effectirely, is to create additional power outside three existing powers. From the beginning of the 19th century an idea of the press as "the Fourth Estate" has prevailed. With the help of this new power in society, there comes out a substantial possibility of effectuating checks-and-balances system among powers in a political commonwealth. However, next problem is how to control the power of the press without excessive governmental intervention. Among the possible systems of social control, the first choice should be to accelerate competition among various kinds of the media. The importance of mutual competition between the press and the broabcasting as the "Fifth Estate" has often been pointed out in the modern democratic countries. And also new communication technologies, which offer much more people much more opportunities to engage in expressing idea and transmitting information, will develop the possilility of activating competition. This, at the same time, means full and effective use of freedom of expression. Various kinds of commentations have been pointed out concerning the justifications for freedom of expression-individual self-fulfillment, discovering truth, cheching govermental activities, etc. The political aspects of this freedom can be developed only by constructing a "structure of the freedom. The foothold for this approach can be found in the philosophy of marketplace of ideas. Althoug this philosophy of a free market has often been criticized as a kind of utopia, it can be renovated as a checks-and-balances system among the influential powers in political society. This means that activating freedom of expression plays a major role of complementing the defects of traditional separation of powers and contribute to protecting individual freedoms.