Lèse-majesté

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Concept.png Lèse-majesté 
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Alasti keiser, Edward von Lõnguse töö Tartus.JPG
The "crime" of dishonouring the ruler. The term is historically applied to crowned heads of state like kings, queens and emperors. While the original meaning is regarded as quaint, insulting rulers is still disliked, and several republics still classify offences against the dignity of the president or the state itself as a crime. Noticeably, several countries also criminalize insults to foreign heads of state.

Lèse-majesté is "crime" of dishonouring the ruler. The term is historically applied to crowned heads of state like kings, queens and emperors. While the original application is regarded as a quaint relic, insulting rulers is still disliked by the powers-that-be, and several republics still classify offences against the dignity of the president or the state itself as a crime. Noticeably, several countries also criminalize insults to foreign heads of state.

Modern parallels

"Extremism" has been defined by the UK government as "opposition to fundamental British values". In 2015, UK Prime Minister Theresa May claimed that when "non-violent extremism goes unchallenged, the values that bind our society together fragment", leaving some room for interpretation to allow those who non-violently express those opinions to be legally challenged. This represents a more modern, less obvious form of Lèse-majesté.

By country

Austria

In Austria, insulting the Federal President and some constitutional organs is punishable as an official offense under Section 115 of the Criminal Code (insult) in conjunction with Section 117 of the Criminal Code (authority to prosecute). While the conventional insult can only be pursued by means of a private prosecution by the person whose honor has been violated, insults against the Federal President are punished ex officio. However, the Federal President must authorize the prosecution. The penalty is a maximum of three months imprisonment.

Brazil

Brazilian Law contains in its Penal Code three types of criminal offenses against the honor of people in general:[1]

  1. Slander: Falsely imputing something defined as a crime to someone. With a penalty of detention between six months to two years, and a fine
  2. Defamation: Falsely imputing an offensive behavior to someone's reputation. With a penalty of detention from three months to one year, and a fine
  3. Injury: Offending the dignity or decorum of someone. Which has a penalty of detention between one and six months, or a fine.

These penalties can be increased by one third when practiced against the President of the Republic. And the Brazilian Penal Code states that crimes against life or freedom of the President of the Republic are subject to Brazilian law, even if committed abroad.[2] Besides that, the law is also expanded to apply the penalties for slander or defamation against other authorities, such as members of the Federal Senate, the Chamber of Deputies or the Supreme Federal Court, with penalty of imprisonment, from 1 to 4 years.

Germany

In Germany, denigration of the Federal President is punishable under Section 90 of the Criminal Code. In order for this offense to be prosecuted, the Federal President must authorize the prosecuting authorities to prosecute. Until 2017, it was illegal to publicly insult foreign heads of state.[3]

Italy

Impugning the honour or prestige of the president of Italy is punishable with one to five years in jail.[4] This includes personal offences made regarding their exercise of powers or otherwise, with no distinction between past or current events or between the public and private spheres.[5]

Morocco

Moroccans are routinely prosecuted for statements deemed offensive to the king. The minimum penalty for such a statement is one year's imprisonment if the statement is made in private (i.e. not broadcast), and three years' imprisonment if it is made in public. In both cases, the maximum is 5 years.[6]

Russia

In Russia, the law on disrespect for power, effective from March 29, 2019, provides for a fine of 30 to 100,000 rubles, which can be increased to 300,000 rubles or replaced by administrative detention for 15 days in case of recurrence. In the first year of enforcement, Russians were been fined a total of 1,615,000 rubles, primarily for denigrating the country's president, Vladimir Putin, on social media.[7][8]

Turkey

Under Turkish law it is illegal to insult the Turkish nation, the Turkish Republic, Turkish government institutions, and Turkish national heroes. It is also illegal to insult the President of Turkey, with the scope of such indictment affecting comical and satirical depictions.[9]

Spain

Articles 490 and 491 of the criminal code govern lèse-majesté. Any person who defames or insults the king, the queen, their ancestors or their descendants can be imprisoned for up to two years.[10] The Spanish satirical magazine El Jueves was fined for violation of Spain's lèse-majesté laws after publishing an issue with a caricature of the then Prince of Asturias, current King Felipe VI, and his wife engaging in sexual intercourse on the cover of one of their issues in 2007.[11]

On 23 December 2020, the Audiencia Nacional summoned 12 individuals accused of offence against the crown for having pulled down mock statues of Christopher Columbus and incumbent King Felipe VI on the Day of Hispanity in Pamplona earlier that year, following a report drawn up by the National Police and Civil Guard, as stated by the accused.[12]

Switzerland

Switzerland only recognizes insulting a foreign head of state or diplomat (Article 296/Article 297 of the Criminal Code) as a special offence. However, only insults aimed at a foreign state or an intergovernmental organization are prosecuted.[13]

Thailand

The 2016 Constitution of Thailand, and all previous versions since 1932, contain the clause, "The King shall be enthroned in a position of revered worship and shall not be violated. No person shall expose the King to any sort of accusation or action." Thai criminal code elaborates in Article 112: "Whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years."

From 1990 to 2005, the Thai court system only saw four or five lèse-majesté cases a year. From January 2006 to May 2011, however, more than 400 cases came to trial, an estimated 15 times increase.


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References

  1. ↑ http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/LEIS/1980-1988/L7209.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/1980-1988/l7209.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-abolishing-slander-law-on-insulting-foreign-leaders/a-37268893
  4. ↑ https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/atto/serie_generale/caricaArticolo?art.versione=2&art.idGruppo=22&art.flagTipoArticolo=1&art.codiceRedazionale=030U1398&art.idArticolo=278&art.idSottoArticolo=1&art.idSottoArticolo1=10&art.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1930-10-26&art.progressivo=0#ar
  5. ↑ https://www.brocardi.it/codice-penale/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-ii/art278.html
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100106113409/http://www.pcb.ub.es/idp/docs/marroc/code_presse.pdf
  7. ↑ https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kommersant.ru%2Fdoc%2F4308963
  8. ↑ https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.znak.com%2F2020-03-31%2Fagora_obvinitelnyh_zaklyucheniy_o_neuvazhenii_vlasti_svyazany_s_oskorbleniem_putina
  9. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32302697
  10. ↑ Spain. Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal [Constitutional Law 10/1995, of 23 November, on the Criminal Code] (in Spanish). BOE no 281, 24 November 1995. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  11. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7092866.stm
  12. ↑ https://cadenaser.com/emisora/2020/12/23/radio_pamplona/1608722714_009893.html
  13. ↑ https://www.admin.ch/ch/e/rs/c311_0.html
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