#NoHateSpeechLaws

 #NoHateSpeechLaws 


Template letter to send to all Senators below


 

Dear Senators  

 

Re: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 (“Hate Speech Bill”) Do you intend to vote in favour of the Hate Speech Bill that represents a massive attack on our Human and Civil right to Freedom of Expression and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty as enshrined in criminal law? 

 

Section 10 of the Hate Speech Bill breaches: 

 

• Article 38.1 of the Irish Constitution that no person shall be tried on any criminal charge save in the due course of law.  

The shift of the burden of proof attacks the constitutional guarantee that every person accused of a criminal offence is innocent until proven guilty. 

• Article 40.6.1 (i) of the Irish Constitution that you have a right to freely express your convictions and opinions. 

 Article 10.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority. 

Article 10(2) that to be permissible, any restriction of Freedom Of Expression must pursue one of the aims recognised as legitimate and "necessary in a democratic society". 

 

How can it possibly be argued that it is a legitimate aim to charge someone with a criminal offence merely because they possess material deemed to be "hateful" in the absence of evidence of publication to the general public? 

 

Article 48.1 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights states that everyone who has been charged shall be innocent until proven guilty according to Law. Under Article 48.2 respect for the rights of the defence of anyone who has been charged shall be guaranteed. 

 

The Hate Speech Bill is an affront to the Irish Constitution, the presumption of innocence under Criminal Law  and our Civil and Human Right to Freedom Of Expression. 

 

Under the ECHR, Freedom Of Expression can be limited by the State where a person engages in activity or performs an act aimed at the destruction of any Convention Rights and Freedoms. The fact that Section 10 refers to the mere possession of "hateful" material without any evidence of the Commission of an offence represents a fundamental attack on the very tenets of Freedom Of Expression. 

  

If one compares Hate Speech legislation in other jurisdictions, such as the Hate Crime And Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, it is clear that the State is attempting to create the most extreme crackdown on Freedom Of Expression in Europe.  

 

Under Section 5(3)(c) of this Act, material found can only be seized by a Constable exercising powers granted under a warrant if there is evidence of commission of an offence. 

 

The European Court has repeatedly referred to the overriding importance of Freedom Of Expression as a key underpinning of democracy and as essential for the protection of all of the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention. 

 

Freedom Of Expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for each individual’s self-fulfilment. The Courts have repeatedly determined that any limitation to this right by the State must be convincingly established.  

 

It is up to you as a politician to serve the interests of the people of Ireland and vote against this Hate Speech Bill which is a full frontal attack on the Irish Constitution, basic tenets of criminal law and the Human and Civil Right to Freedom Of Expression. 

 

 

Signed 



Senators email addresses

garret.ahearn@oireachtas.ie;catherine.ardagh@oireachtas.ie;frances.black@oireachtas.ie;niall.blaney@oireachtas.ie;victor.boyhan@oireachtas.ie;lynn.boylan@oireachtas.ie;paddy.burke@oireachtas.ie;jerry.buttimer@oireachtas.ie;malcolm.byrne@oireachtas.ie;maria.byrne@oireachtas.ie;micheal.carrigy@oireachtas.ie;pat.casey@oireachtas.ie;shane.cassells@oireachtas.ie;lisa.chambers@oireachtas.ie;lorraine.cliffordlee@oireachtas.ie;tom.clonan@oireachtas.ie;martin.conway@oireachtas.ie;gerard.craughwell@oireachtas.ie;ollie.crowe@oireachtas.ie;john.cummins@oireachtas.ie;emer.currie@oireachtas.ie;mark.daly@oireachtas.ie;paul.daly@oireachtas.ie;aidan.davitt@oireachtas.ie;regina.doherty@oireachtas.ie;aisling.dolan@oireachtas.ie;niall.odonnghaile@oireachtas.ie;timmy.dooley@oireachtas.ie;mary.fitzpatrick@oireachtas.ie;eileen.flynn@oireachtas.ie;robbie.gallagher@oireachtas.ie;roisin.garvey@oireachtas.ie;paul.gavan@oireachtas.ie;Pippa.Hackett@oireachtas.ie;alicemary.higgins@oireachtas.ie;annie.hoey@oireachtas.ie;gerry.horkan@oireachtas.ie;mary.seerykearney@oireachtas.ie;sharon.keogan@oireachtas.ie;sean.kyne@oireachtas.ie;tim.lombard@oireachtas.ie;vincentp.martin@oireachtas.ie;michael.mcdowell@oireachtas.ie;john.mcgahon@oireachtas.ie;erin.mcgreehan@oireachtas.ie;rebecca.moynihan@oireachtas.ie;ronan.mullen@oireachtas.ie;eugene.murphy@oireachtas.ie;david.norris@oireachtas.ie;denis.odonovan@oireachtas.ie;fiona.oloughlin@oireachtas.ie;joe.oreilly@oireachtas.ie;pauline.oreilly@oireachtas.ie;ned.osullivan@oireachtas.ie;lynn.ruane@oireachtas.ie;marie.sherlock@oireachtas.ie;mark.wall@oireachtas.ie;barry.ward@oireachtas.ie;fintan.warfield@oireachtas.ie;diarmuid.wilson@oireachtas.ie

 

 

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