RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - Cospe

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RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - A Comparative Overview of Findings from the RAXEN NFP Reports 2001-2004 2.2. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Member States increasingly display a mixed legal response to racist crime and violence that incorporates different elements of the above approaches. While racist violence and related offences can be punished as violent crimes and other crimes under each Member State’s criminal law, Member States have also enacted targeted legislation to specifically address racism and xenophobia. Each Member State’s legislation against racism and xenophobia has developed in response to its particular history. Member States with a National Socialist/fascist history, as well as other Member States that have been affected by this history, have adopted a number of specific laws that set out to prohibit and punish acts and organisations that have fascist and other extremist overtones. Other Member States have adopted more broad-based legislation. By way of illustration, the following list presents some examples of key legislation in different Member States: • Establishment of or participation in banned political parties and other organisations, and dissemination of Nazi, fascist and racist ideologies. For example: In Austria, the Constitutional Act prohibiting the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (dating from 1945, and subsequent amendments). In Germany, paragraph 86a in the Penal Code prohibits use of symbols of anti-constitutional organisations. • Dissemination of racist ideas. For example: In Greece, legislation exists to punish the preparation, possession, publication and dissemination of written and other material that is likely to bring about hatred against persons on the grounds of race, colour of skin etc. (Law No.927/1979; Law No.1419/1984). • Incitement to racial hatred, hostility and violence against certain groups. For example: In Germany, section 130 in the Penal Code makes it an offence to incite hatred against certain sections of the population and to incite violence against such groups. • Denial, trivialisation or approval of the Holocaust. For example: In Belgium, legislation from 23 March 1995 prohibits the denial, devaluation, justification or approval of genocide committed by the nationalsocialist German regime during the Second World War. • Prohibition for the wearing or display of certain racist, xenophobic or discriminatory insignia and symbols. For example: In Austria, the wearing of neo-Nazi symbols is prohibited under the Insignia Act, section 1 and 3. 36 Looking specifically at just two main legislative areas that are particularly relevant to racist crime and violence (as opposed to more general legislation on 36 Abzeichengesetz, BGBI 84/1960, amended version BGB1 117/1980. 42
RACIST VIOLENCE IN 15 EU MEMBER STATES - A Comparative Overview of Findings from the RAXEN NFP Reports 2001-2004 discrimination in relation to employment, housing, education and other areas), the following table (Table 1) descriptively summarises key legislation in each of the 15 Member States with respect to: • incitement to racial hatred, hostility and violence against certain groups, and • racist violence as an aggravating factor in criminal/penal law, with the possibility of enhanced sentencing 37 When reading Table 1 consideration should be given to the following: The information in Table 1 should be read alongside more detailed information on a broader range of legislation that variously touches on racism and xenophobia, which is outlined in the EUMC publication ‘Migrants, Minorities and Legislation: Documenting Legal Measures and Remedies Against Discrimination in 15 Member States of the EU’. 38 As legislation is constantly updated, the information contained in Table 1 might be subject to change and, therefore, should be read with this in mind. In addition, there are instances in different Member States where judges have decided to take into account the racist motive of the offender when passing sentence in a case involving racist violence, and have subsequently increased the sentence. 39 37 38 39 ‘Enhanced sentencing’ means that a tougher sentence (such as a longer prison sentence) can be given if a violent offence is found to have been committed with racist/xenophobic intent. ICMPD (International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Vienna) (2004), publication for the EUMC; see: http://eumc.eu.int/eumc/material/pub/comparativestudy/CS-Legislation-en.pdf see: http://eumc.eu.int/eumc/material/pub/comparativestudy/CS-Legislation-en.pdf - p.115, in reference to Denmark. 43
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