FROM BLASPHEMY TO THE PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS IN FRENCH CRIMINAL LAW
Michał Jacek Zawiślak
Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0824-5489
Abstract
The most important legal act of the French Revolution did not refer to blasphemy. Removal of this crime from the French criminal law system took place under the provisions of the Act of 29 July 1881 on Freedom of the Press. Special legal protection, under the provisions of this Act, has been extended to freedom of speech. Currently, the actions protected under French criminal law is freedom of expression and, on the other hand, freedom from discrimination. Criminal provisions of the Act of 29 July 1881 on freedom of the press provides the protection of believers and non-believers against all forms of discrimination, including religious ones. The constitutional principle of secularism (laïcité) of the state has not exempted local Alsacien-Mosellan criminal law, including the blasphemy which was in force in Alsace-Moselle since 1871 until 2017. The removal of blasphemy from local Alsacien-Mosellan criminal law is part of the consistently implemented axiology of republican values with the subordination of the law to the idea of laïcité. The French Penal Code has strengthened the legal protection of believers against various forms of behavior discriminating against their religious feelings, in particular in non-public spaces.
Keywords:
French criminal law, blasphemy, local criminal law of Alsace-Moselle, laïcité, religious convictions, secularismReferences
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Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0824-5489
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