Handyside v United Kingdom was a 1976 decision of the European Court of Human Rights holding that the United Kingdom's seizure and prosecution of the publisher of a book under obscenity law did not violate the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court reasoned that states enjoy a margin of appreciation in regulating public morals given the absence of any uniform European conception of morality, while affirming that freedom of expression protects not only ideas that are favourably received but also those that offend, shock or disturb the state or any sector of the population. It became the founding case for the European Court's margin of appreciation doctrine, which continues to shape how the Court reviews member states' restrictions on Convention rights.
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