Press Release Regarding the Annulment by the Constitutional Council of France of the Law Concerning the “Criminalization of the Denial of the Genocides in the Absence of a Court Decision”
No: 30, 27 January 2017
The Constitutional Council of France annulled yesterday (26 January)
the relevant amendment on the Law on Equality and Citizenship, adopted
by the French Parliament on 22 December 2016, which expands the scope
of the law in order to criminalize the denial of the genocides in the
absence of a court decision. The French Constitutional Council decided
the relevant Article violated the right to freedom of expression and
was in breach of the French Constitution.
This decision of the French Constitutional Council, which is in line
with its previous decision in 2012 and the principles that Turkey
upholds with regard to historical controversies, once again
demonstrated its commitment to the rule of law and to the principles of
freedom of speech, an indispensable element of democracy.
This decision is a significant legal gain preventing the unlawful
restriction of democratic debates on historical controversies for the
sake of futile domestic political concerns.
We expect that those who try to exploit historical controversies for
political purposes, would draw necessary lessons from this decision.
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