CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
| Author | Suteu, Silvia |
|---|---|
| Title | Law against Negation: Anti-Holocaust Denial Legislation in Europe |
| Summary | This study deals with anti-Holocaust denial legislation in the European context. By looking at a number of different legal systems and the manner in which each has chosen to regulate denial, the present analysis aims at furthering the reader’s understanding of why such laws are adopted and how they function in practice. The study proceeds, in Chapter One, by analyzing the theoretical justifications underlying the regulation of harmful speech. It thus details the normative considerations based on freedom of speech, equality, human dignity, and democracy. It also takes into account the international aspect, accounting for what is increasingly called an international standard of banning hate speech. Furthermore, the study proposes to look at the particular message carried by anti-Holocaust denial laws. Only in so doing, the argument goes, can we fully understand the choice in adopting these laws, explain their record of implementation, and weigh their ultimate societal impact. The analysis then moves, in Chapter Two, to a detailed cross-national comparison of the texts of anti-denial legislation. Chapter Three discusses emerging jurisprudence surrounding Holocaust denial and its criminalization. The cases covered are varied, and are divided by region (Western Europe—Germany, Austria, France, Belgium; Eastern Europe—Romania and Hungary), but also according to specifics of the legal texts (which explains the grouping together of Spain and Switzerland). The reader will ultimately be able to identify common trends across these cases and even mutual reinforcement between different judicial bodies. Based on all the reviewed evidence, this examination concludes that the impetus behind anti-Holocaust denial laws is multi-fold. It is both a reaction to internal factors, signaling a certain official stance toward the victims of hate speech and society at large, and to external factors, such as international reputation and membership conditionality. |
| Supervisor | Sajo, Andras |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/suteu_silvia.pdf |
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