Fighting Hate Speech Through EU Law

This article constitutes a chapter from a forthcoming book on EU non-discrimination law (E. Ellis & K. Benediktsdóttir (eds.), Equality into Reality: Action for Diversity & Non-Discrimination). It explores the rise of the European ‘First Amendment’ beyond national and Strasbourg law, offering a fresh look into the previously under-theorised issue of hate speech in EU law. Building its argument on (1) the scrutiny of fundamental rights protection, (2) the distinction between commercial and non-commercial speech, and, finally, (3) the looking glass of critical race theory, the paper demonstrates how the judgment of the ECJ in the Feryn case implicitly consolidated legal narratives on hate speech in Europe. In this way, the paper reconstructs the dominant European theory of freedom of expression via rhetorical and victim-centered constitutional analysis, bearing important ethical implications for European integration

Law and Politics of Memory

The chapter analyses the interaction of law and the politics of historical memory, summarizing its genesis and evolution as well as outlining legal governance of historical memory nowadays, in particular by virtue of so-called memory laws. The analysis focuses on the ways politics of memory has infiltrated the settings of human rights via contemporary international and regional (in particular, European) law. It further unpacks the specific role of historical memory in national constitutional projects leading to a phenomenon of mnemonic constitutionalism. Finally, the chapter explores the role of memory laws as well as their various taxonomies in comparative law. The conclusions summarize major trends in recent academic literature on law and historical memory

After the celebration: Marriage equality in EU Law post-<i>Coman</i> in eight questions and some further thoughts

This paper provides a detailed critical analysis of the case of Coman, where the Court of Justice clarified that the meaning of the term ‘spouse’ in Directive 2004/38 was gender-neutral, opening up the door for same-sex marriage recognition for immigration purposes all around the EU, thus destroying the heteronormative misinterpretations of the clear language of the Directive practised in a handful of Member States. The state of EU law after Coman is still far from perfect, however: we underline a line of important questions which remain open and which the Court will need to turn to in the near future to ensure that marriage equality moves beyond mere proclamations in the whole territory of the Union

Внедрение гендерного бюджетирования в Беларуси: текущее состояние и перспективы

The relevance of the article is due to the need to develop gender budgeting in Belarus, as a recognized and increasingly demanded tool around the world to achieve gender equality, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The purpose of the study is to analyse the work done and the existing problems in the implementation of gender budgeting in Belarus, and to identify measures of State policy that contribute to a more comprehensive implementation of gender budgeting in the country. The methodology of the study consists in the analysis of the normative legal acts and state programs of the Republic of Belarus, scientific publications, Internet sources, official statistics, survey data, and recommendations of international organizations on compliance of the Belarusian policy with international best practice in gender budgeting. The results of the work are an reviewed progress and remaining problems in achieving gender equality and implementation of certain aspects of gender budgeting in Belarus; calculation of the composite indicator on gender budgeting and comparison of its value with OECD countries; development of a set of measures (action plan) for the implementation of gender budgeting in Belarus. The author makes a conclusion that at the moment gender budgeting is practically not applied in Belarus, however, some basis for its implementation already exists. Despite a relatively good position of Belarus in specialized international ratings, the problems of inequality remain relevant, to a greater or lesser extent, for many sectors of the economy and aspects of life of women and men. Comprehensive implementation of a gender approach in the budget process is to be an effective tool for solving such problems. Promising areas for further research are a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the impact of activities and the existing distribution of state programs expenditures on gender equality in Belarus, and implementation of gender budgeting at the level of local budgets.Актуальность исследования обусловлена необходимостью развития в Беларуси гендерного бюджетирования как признанного и все более востребованного во многих странах инструмента достижения гендерного равенства, Целей устойчивого развития ООН и осуществления Пекинской платформы действий. Цель исследования — проанализировать проделанную работу и существующие проблемы по внедрению в Беларуси гендерного бюджетирования и определить меры государственной политики, способствующие более полной реализации в стране гендерного бюджетирования. Методика исследования заключалась в анализе нормативных правовых актов и государственных программ Республики Беларусь, научных публикаций, интернет-источников, официальной статистики, данных опросов и рекомендаций международных организаций на предмет соответствия проводимой в Беларуси политики передовой международной практике гендерного бюджетирования. Приведен обзор прогресса и остающихся проблем в достижении гендерного равенства и внедрении отдельных аспектов гендерного бюджетирования в Беларуси. Рассчитан сводный индекс гендерного бюджетирования и его значение сопоставлено со странами ОЭСР. Разработан комплекс мероприятий (план действий) по развитию в Беларуси гендерного бюджетирования. Обоснован вывод о том, что на данный момент в Беларуси гендерное бюджетирование практически не применяется, однако некоторая основа для его внедрения уже существует. Несмотря на относительно неплохие позиции Беларуси в специализированных международных рейтингах, проблемы неравенства в той или иной степени остаются актуальными для многих секторов экономики и аспектов жизни женщин и мужчин. Эффективным инструментом решения таких проблем может стать комплексная реализация гендерного подхода в бюджетном процессе. Перспективными направлениями дальнейших исследований могут быть: комплексный и детальный анализ влияния мероприятий и существующего распределения расходов в рамках государственных программ на гендерное равенство в Беларуси; внедрение гендерного бюджетирования на ур

Hate Speech and Constitutional Democracy in Eastern Europe: Transitional and Militant? (Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland)

This article departs from the normative assumptions about the status of militant democracy in transitional countries, while drawing on the constitutional appraisal of free speech and non-discrimination in Central and Eastern Europe during the period 1990-2012. It explores two models ('American' and 'European') of legal engagement with hate speech, targeting this recurrent constitutional theme to trace the militant in the transitional discourse on freedom of expression. The study scrutinises the legislative framework and the adjudication of the higher courts (constitutional, supreme and appellate courts) in three selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe-the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland-in an effort to address the dearth of literature in the English language on hate speech laws and policies in these jurisdictions. The author concludes that the discourse on transitional democracy in this post-communist constitutionalism has been substantially constructed as a form of militant democracy, despite some visible influence of the American free speech narrative. © 2014 Cambridge University Press and The Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem