INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE NATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON HATE SPEECH

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the existing international standards concerning national
legislation regulating hate speech, focusing particularly on the instruments of the Council of
Europe. Namely, Council of Europe’s Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)16 on combating hate
speech and the “General Policy Recommendation No. 15 on Combating Hate Speech” by the
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) elaborate in detail on the conditions
necessary to fulfill the provisions of hate speech in the areas of criminal, civil, and administrative
law, in accordance with international human rights standards. Due to their particular importance
for the national contexts, a summary of these instruments will be provided.