Common and Comprehensive European Definition of Hate-Speech Alternative Proposal

• Published in: Open Political Science
• Main Author: Teršek Andraž
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2020
• Subjects: freedom of expression; hate speech; ecthr; slovenian criminal code article 297 understood as hate-speech provision; alternative proposal for a common and comprehensive european definition of hate speech; droit; hisphilso; Iceland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/openps-2020-0019; https://doaj.org/article/1bf165a6bf034aaba34fe96690572d5b

Europe needs to define the term and legal (criminal & constitutional) concept of “hate speech” precisely. The definition must be written in legal literature and in legislation. It must also be offered by the European Constitutional Courts and, last but not least, by the ECtHR. A descriptive definition offered inter alia by the ECtHR judgement in case of Vejdeland vs. Sweden (2012) was only a guidance. The new ECtHR judgement in the case of Carl Jóhann Lilliendahl vs. Iceland (11th of June 2020) addressed “homophobic speech” as “hate speech” directly. By combining the ECtHR case-law on freedom of expression in the last five years with understanding of this concept in the Slovenian Criminal Code (and with only subordinated reference to the understanding of this term by the European Commission) the author offers an alternative proposal for a new, common and comprehensive European definition of “hate speech.”