Freedom of speech in Denmark

In Denmark the freedom of speech and freedom of the press are ensured by § 77 of the constitution[1]:

"Anyone is entitled to in print, writing and speech to publish his or hers thoughts, yet under responsibility to the courts. Censorship and other preventive measures can never again be introduced."

The phrase under responsibility to the courts provides the main concept of the freedom: the constitution grants you the freedom to say whatever you please, but does not protect you from being punished for doing so. Tradition by the court is that the boundaries for what is deemed inappropriate are wider for the press or in a political debate than for civil citizens.

The major punishable acts are libel, blasphemy and racism, which are restricted by the Danish penal code. Like most other countries, Denmark also forbids publishing copyright-protected material without permission and revealing trade secrets in the civil law.

In 2005, Denmark got a joint first place in Reporters Without Borders Worldwide press freedom index [2].

Libel

The provision against libel is set down in § 267 of the penal code:

"Anybody who offends another person's honor by insulting words or actions or by stating or disseminating charges, that are suitable for reducing the insulted person in the esteem of fellow citizens, will be punished by fine or ordinary imprisonment."

Blasphemy

Blasphemy is forbidden by § 140 of the penal code:

"Anybody who publicly mocks or insults any in this country legally existing religious community tenets of faith or worship, will be punished by fine or imprisonment for up to 4 months."

However, there is very little legal tradition for actually punishing anyone for violating this article. The latest conviction was in 1938 in a case of flyers that construed Jewish holy texts as urging 'violating' non-Jewish girls. Legal tradition seems to establish that debate and art are not punishable under the blasphemy-article .

Racism

The rules against racism are set down in § 266b of the Danish penal code.

"Whoever publicly, or with intention to disseminating in a larger circle makes statements or other pronouncement, by which a group of persons is threatened, derided or degraded because of their race, colour of skin, national or ethnic background, faith or sexual orientation, will be punished by fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Sec. 2. When meting out the punishment it shall be considered an especially aggravating circumstance, if the count has the character of propaganda."

Free speech advocate Lars Hedegaard was convicted under this statute for criticizing Islam. Politician Jesper Langballe was also convicted for defending his comments.

External links

• Danish Penal Code in Danish.
• Freedom of expression in Denmark - IFEX