Denigration of the Federal President

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The denigration of the Federal President in Germany is criminalized in Section 90 of the Criminal Code under the heading of endangering the democratic constitutional state .

Protected legal interest

Both the person of the Federal President himself, even if he is attacked privately, and the office of the Federal President and therefore also the representative in office ( Federal Council President) are protected as long as he exercises the powers of the Federal President.

Offense

Action is the denigration . This is understood to be a particularly severe form of defamation ( insult ), measured in terms of form, content, accompanying circumstances or motives. The act must be done publicly (especially addressed to an indefinite group of people), in a meeting or through the distribution of writings. More modern media such as sound and image storage are on an equal footing with fonts in accordance with Section 11 (3) StGB.

The act is punished with imprisonment from three months to five years. In less severe cases, the court can mitigate the sentence. A denigration of the Federal President can only be prosecuted if the Federal President authorizes the prosecuting authorities to do so. According to the regulation, the state protection chambers at the regional courts according to § 74a GVG are responsible for the acts .

Comparable facts are known in monarchies as insults of majesty , so also in earlier German monarchies.

application

The norm is rarely used. From 1990 to 2004 the Office of the Federal President registered 41 cases, in two of which the respective Federal President issued the criminal authorization required under Section 90 (4) of the Criminal Code.

Political discussion

At a federal party conference in April 2016, the FDP passed a motion calling for the criminal offense to be abolished. According to the decision, the party is of the opinion that protection via the regular libel paragraph is sufficient and that there is no apparent reason for a higher sentence.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fischer, StGB, 58th edition 2011, § 90 StGB margin no. 1
  2. ↑ Fischer, StGB, 58th edition 2011, § 90 StGB margin no. 2
  3. ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Federal President Wulff complains , December 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ Fischer, StGB, 58th edition 2011, § 90 StGB margin no. 2
  5. ↑ Fischer, StGB, 58th edition 2011, § 111 StGB margin no. 5
  6. ↑ Fischer, StGB, 58th edition 2011, § 90 StGB margin no. 3
  7. ^ Rheinische Post: Wulff sued Facebook for insult , December 29, 2011.
  8. ↑ Andrea Grotemeier: The comeback of the lese majesty . Legal Tribune Online . January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ Abolish lese majesty as a criminal offense - no special status for heads of state!