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April 19, 2007
Sedition is Back
How quite delightful. Our Masters in Brussels have decided that sedition should be re-introduced into English law. How kind of them, don't you think?
Here's the file of the latest draft on the idea that there should be a new pan-European criminal offense of denying the holocaust and also dealing with incitement to violence on racial, national and religious grounds.
Download droipen_34_latest.pdf
Apart from the stupidity of the idea itself there's two points that stand out:
(5a) Member States acknowledge that combating racism and xenophobia require various kinds of measures in a comprehensive framework and may not be limited to criminal matters. This Framework Decision is limited to combating particularly serious forms of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law. Since the Member States’ cultural and legal traditions are, to some extent, different, particularly in this field, full harmonisation of criminal laws is currently not possible.
I love that "currently not possible", don't you?
Further:
For offences other than those referred to in Articles 1 and 2, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that racist and xenophobic motivation is considered an aggravating factor, or, alternatively that such motivation may be taken into consideration by the courts in the determination of the penalties.
The problem here is that "xenophobia" is defined in the English language as a fear of things foreign. It is sometimes added that it is an irrational fear, but it is indeed fear. Defining xenophobia as a contribution to a criminal act is therefore sedition, that is, a thought crime.
Because you fear those Frogs who will insist on smuggling garlic into your roast beef, you are therefore a criminal.
Aren't we lucky that our law is being written by those who do not in fact understand our language?
April 19, 2007 in European Union | Permalink
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Comments
Oddly, one of the people who have pointed out that problem with the xenophobia aspect of this is Baroness Ludford, one the Lib Dem MEPs. On this issue she is absolutely right.
Hold on there a moment, did I just write something positive about a Lib Dem?
Posted by: Elaib | Apr 19, 2007 3:20:48 PM
"The Aachen Memorandum" by Andrew Roberts is worth a read in this context; highbrow literature it isn't, but as a 300-page running joke about the EU, its self-importance, pomposity and absurd political correctness, it's proving remarkably prescient. (No, I am not the author!)
Posted by: Mark | Apr 19, 2007 4:09:31 PM
I've not yet read the document, but I don't see how you get from 'For offences other than those referred to in Articles 1 and 2, Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that racist and xenophobic motivation is considered an aggravating factor' to 'Because you fear those Frogs who will insist on smuggling garlic into your roast beef, you are therefore a criminal.'
It's saying that, if you commit a criminal offence -- e.g. criminal damage or assault -- the fact it's motivated by your fear of Frenchmen is an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing. You can fear -- or, indeed, hate -- Frenchmen as much as you want, without legal penalty, so long as you don't commit what's anyway a criminal offence as a result of your feelings about them. In fact, it pretty much describes the legal situation here anyway, with 'racially aggravated' offences.
I'm not happy with the idea of creating a special category of crime to deal with an aggravating feature -- we don't, for example, have a separate crime of burglary of a domestic property during the hours of darkness, though the time of day is an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing -- and I'm very unhappy with the EU trying to tell us what our courts should consider aggravating or mitigating factors when it comes to sentencing anything but I really don't see how this proposal amounts to creating 'a thought crime'
Tim adds: It is a thought crime (as indeed racial aggravation is). That you happen to fear the French (not exactly a voluntary matter) makes your punishment more severe.
Posted by: Not Saussure | Apr 19, 2007 5:49:00 PM
No, but going out and hitting a Frenchmen because you fear him is a voluntary matter, and aggravating features aren't an issue unless you first commit the offence simpliciter. Don't hit him (or whatever) and the law takes no interest in your feelings towards him.
Posted by: Not Saussure | Apr 19, 2007 6:46:28 PM
Anyone who's watching the gradual tightening of the noose is going to be more than anxious about this latest move. We can be cynically amused by this, Tim but it's the likes of your goodself and even me who would be on the end of these provisions. I find them chilling.
Posted by: jameshigham | Apr 20, 2007 5:37:58 AM