I got this link though a beer blogger via Twitter - hardly the usual source of legal tidbits. But what a tidbit: "the Defamation Act includes a definition of the crime of blasphemy and provision for its prosecution." Wow.
So what's it mean? Here is a statement on Irish law that clarifies defamation is a similar concept than we might use the word for - it covers libel and slander. Hurtful lies. But criminalizing it? And broadening it? The Irish Times reports the "Defamation Bill, which reforms the State’s libel laws, provoked an outcry over its inclusion of a charge of blasphemous libel." The CBC, of all places, has a rather good analysis:
Weinrib points out that under Ireland's new legislation, in order to be found guilty, there has to be proof that the offender intended to cause outrage with a statement that is abusive or insulting. The statement also has to produce a violent reaction. The bill states that a person publishes or utters blasphemous matter if:
The bill puts the onus on a defendant to prove that a reasonable person would find genuine literary, artistic, political, scientific, or academic value in the matter to which the offence relates.
Compare that to Canada's hate crime laws where there are also consequential intention requirements. They require that the criminal statements constitute "hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace. So it is a crime where you cause another illegal wrong through your words. Is causing "outrage with a statement that is abusive or insulting" of the same class? Is it a crime?
Comments
The Beer Nut - July 23, 2009 10:13 AM
It's so incredibly stupid. Nobody wants this law, not even the most right-wing fundamentalist nutjob wants this law. It only exists because the Constitution says it has to and they don't want to leave the gap any longer than the 72 years it has already been there.
The government has admitted that the only sensible thing to do is amend the Constitution, requiring a referendum. But because the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is coming up they don't want both issues in the public sphere at the same time.
Instead, they've opted to draft and pass a law creating a crime they hope will be almost impossible to prosecute for.
Cowardly government; stupid, pointless law.
Renee - July 23, 2009 10:34 AM
I don't know, I kind of think that it's the duty of all citizens to cause outrage once in awhile by calling stupid people on their stupididity. And how somebody else feels about another person's actions should not be the basis for law. Hurt feelings, moral outrage, witch trials and the inquisition... all of these things have something in common, and it's not witches.
Renee - July 23, 2009 10:43 AM
(OK, I was being flippant, so I should clarify: uttering threats seriously effects peace of mind of an individual - their mental health. Even if not physical, it's still a blow. Calling for violence against an individual is similar. In that case, the majority of the responsibility should really lie on the people doing the violence, not the people calling for it, even if I agree that some penalties could reasonably be applied to the former. But saying things that offend people? In defamation, a person is directly and obviously hurt by the consequences of untrue statements. But religion is not truth in law; it's opinion. Also, putting the onus of proof on the defendant to show that their accuser isn't "normal?" That's seriously wrong.)
The Beer Nut - July 23, 2009 11:00 AM
But religion is not truth in law
And that's where our problem lies. The preamble to our Constitution places ultimate authority in "the Most Holy Trinity" and acknowledges the people of Ireland's obligations to "our Divine Lord Jesus Christ".
Other nuggets include:
"the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.
"The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home."
Lovely.
seanie - July 24, 2009 12:27 PM
Alrighty then, Ireland is off my list of places to retire for now as I will never be able to write that book "The Unwashed Druid Heathens and their Thirst for the Blood of the Innocents"