Nowadays, law and freedom are 2 key concepts that are of large importance to the functioning of society. In Poland, the Criminal Code is simply a basic legal act that regulates criminal matters and liability. Recently, president Duda addressed the Constitutional Court with an amendment to the Criminal Code, known as the hatred speech bill. This amendment aims to extend the catalogue of grounds for offences motivated by prejudice.
The hatred Speech Act is simply a task aimed at combating hatred speech and hatred crimes. This task was adopted by the Sejm in February this year, and then addressed to the Senate. Following the adoption by the Senate, he was directed to the President, who decided to mention him to the Constitutional Court under preventive control.
Preventive control is simply a peculiar procedure in which the president can mention the bill to the Constitutional Court to examine its compliance with the Constitution. This mode is utilized in situations where the president has doubts about the compliance of the bill with the Constitution.
In the case of the hatred speech bill, president Duda justified his decision with doubts about the compliance of the law with the constitutional rule of legal clarity and freedom of expression (Article 54(1) of the Constitution). This means that the president fears that the bill is sufficiently precise and does not violate freedom of expression.
The amendment extends the catalogue of grounds for hatred crimes, including hatred crimes against people due to their affiliation with a circumstantial social group. In addition, the law extends criminal liability by replacing the phrase ‘because of its affiliation’ with the word ‘in connection with its affiliation’, which will let for the punishment of offenders even if the victim does not have the trait which caused the offence. These offences are to be punishable by imprisonment.
According to the Police office data, a full of 1453 hatred crimes were recorded in 2022, an increase of 15% compared to the erstwhile year. Of this, 431 crimes were directed against individuals due to their affiliation with a peculiar social group.
The hatred Speech Act is simply a step towards combating hatred speech and hatred crimes. However, as president Duda pointed out, there are doubts about the compliance of the bill with the Constitution. Now, the Constitutional Court will gotta examine whether the bill is compatible with the Constitution and whether it does not violate freedom of expression.
Many social organisations and legal experts stress that the hatred speech bill is essential to combat hatred speech and hatred crime. However, as president Duda points out, we must besides take care of freedom of expression and the rule of legal clarity in order not to restrict freedom of speech.
Law and freedom are 2 key concepts that must be kept in balance. The hatred Speech Act is simply a step towards combating hatred speech and hatred crimes, but we must besides take care of freedom of expression and the rule of legal clarity.
Continued here:
Law and Freedom: How will the Amendment of the Criminal Code affect society?
