Defamation and defamation against persons of political life
The defamation and defamation against persons of political life is a criminal offense that is standardized in Germany in § 188 StGB . The offense is a misdemeanor , which in the case of slander a prison sentence up to five years provides for three months, while the penalties for the defamation is between six months and five years.
General
The standard takes into account that people who are politically active are exposed to defamatory attacks in a particular form. It is intended to prevent the public debate from becoming unnecessarily emotionalized and polarized. Since the protective purpose of the regulation aims to ward off the "poisoning of political life", the qualified regulation is not based on a graduated value of personal honor compared to § 186 and § 187 StGB.
The standard is compatible with the principle of equality in Article 3 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ; however, their scope is limited, since people who are involved in political life are subject to higher tolerance obligations. In the case of disputes in the political battle of opinion and matters in the public interest , case law assumes a presumption in favor of freedom of expression ( safeguarding legitimate interests ).
Legal interest
According to the prevailing opinion , the protected legal interest of the regulation is the person , but not the political office ; indirectly, however, it is also about ensuring the functionality of the respective offices. The standard protects people who are in political life , who hold leading positions there and who deal with important questions of legislation or administration , the constitution or international politics and who have a significant influence on public life.
In addition to the Federal President and President of the Bundestag , the members of the federal government and the respective state governments , this also includes the members of the German Bundestag and the state parliaments as well as leading politicians of the parties. Other public figures, on the other hand, are not protected, even if they deal with questions of business or science , art or worldview, are considered prominent or have some other influence.
Offense
The regulation differentiates between the defamation according to § 186 StGB in the first and the defamation acc. 187 StGB in the second paragraph. The allegation of the perpetrator must be capable of significantly impairing the public activity of the person concerned by questioning his honesty or credibility and discrediting him. The perpetrator does not need to refer to certain activities of the person concerned. Whether the act is likely to affect him in the long term depends only on the content of the allegations, not on the specific circumstances of the offense or the extent of the group of people affected.
justification
Whether the act is justified can be examined within the framework of § 193 StGB. A legitimate interest in defamation can generally be excluded.
Legal policy
The responsible minister, Christine Lambrecht, plans to intensify the situation.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thomas Fischer , Commentary on the Criminal Code, 65th edition 2018, § 188, Rn. 1
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 193, Rn. 17a
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 188, Rn. 2
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 188, Rn. 2
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 188, Rn. 3 / 3a
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 193, Rn. 28a
- ↑ Thomas Fischer, § 188, Rn. 5
- ^ Zeit Online , Minister of Justice wants to better protect politicians from hatred of October 8, 2019
