Lèse-majesté or lese-majesty ( , ; ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from medieval Anglo-Norman French, where , or (among other variants) meant , which traces back to Classical Latin (), which was a form of treason against the emperor under the law of maiestas in Ancient Rome. The modern spellings are due to the later influence of modern French (in the case of lèse-majesté), and the gradual transformation of Anglo-Norman into a highly-Anglicised form known as Law French (in the case of lese-majesty), with the latter also being the origin of the heavily-Anglicised pronunciation.
The concept of lèse-majesté expressed the idea of a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman Republic. In the Dominate, or late Empire period (from the 3rd century CE), the emperors continued to distance themselves from the republican ideals of the Roman Republic, and increasingly equated themselves with the state.TheFreeDictionary.com, "Lese majesty" TheFreeDictionary.com, Columbia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22 September 2006 Although legally the (the emperor's official title, meaning, roughly, 'first citizen') could never become a sovereign because the republic was never officially abolished, emperors were deified as divus, first posthumously but later (by the Dominate period) while still reigning. Deified emperors enjoyed the same legal protection that was accorded to the divinities of the state cult; by the time Christianity replaced paganism in the Roman Empire, what was in all but name a monarchical tradition had already become well established.
Narrower conceptions of offences against majesty as offences against the Crown predominated in the European kingdoms that emerged in the early medieval period. In feudal Europe, legal systems classified some crimes as lèse-majesté even if they were not intentionally or specifically directed against the Crown. For example: counterfeiting ranked as lèse-majesté because coins bore the monarch's effigy and/or coat of arms.
With the decline of absolute monarchy in Europe, lèse-majesté came to be viewed there as a less serious crime. However, certain malicious acts formerly classified as involving the crime of lèse-majesté could still be prosecuted as treason. Some republics still classify any offence against the highest representatives of the state as a crime. Lèse-majesté laws still apply as well in monarchies outside of Europe, notably in modern Thailand and Cambodia.
Current laws
Europe
Belarus On 31 January 2022, a woman in Belarus was handed an 18-month prison sentence for "insulting" the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, and other authorities after pictures mocking the officials were found on her phone.
Denmark In Denmark, its monarchy is protected by the usual libel paragraph (§267 of the Danish Penal Code which allows for up to four months of imprisonment), but §115 allows for doubling of the usual punishment when the reigning monarch is target of the libel. When a queen consort, queen dowager or the crown prince is the target, the punishment may be increased by 50%. There are no historical records of §115 having ever been used, but in March 2011, Greenpeace activists who unfurled a banner at a dinner at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference were charged under this section. They were acquitted of the charge relating to the monarch but received minor sentences for other crimes.Københavns Byret (22-08-2011). Greenpeace-aktivister idømt betinget fængsel i 14 dage. (in Danish).
Estonia
Insulting a foreign dignitary, their representatives or family members, or desecrating their flag or anthem can be punished by up to two years of imprisonment according to the Penal Code §247 and §249.
Germany
Until 2017, it was illegal to publicly insult foreign heads of state. On 25 January 2017, the German justice minister Heiko Maas announced a decision by the cabinet to remove this law from the German criminal code, effective 1 January 2018. The decision came several months after Chancellor Angela Merkel announced in April 2016 a controversial decision to honour the Turkish government's request to prosecute a German comedian for reading an obscene poem about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on late-night television. In that announcement, Merkel also stated the intention to consider repeal of the little-known law. The prosecution was dropped in November 2016.
Insulting the federal president is still illegal, but prosecution requires the authorisation of the president.
While insults are generally not considered to be covered by freedom of speech in Germany and remain punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, punishment is harsher for insults of politicians, up to three years in prison.
Iceland Insulting a country, foreign head of state, its representatives or flag can be punished by up to two years of imprisonment according to the 95th article of the penal code. For a very serious breach, the term can be extended to six years.
, two people have been convicted of lèse-majesté: author Þórbergur Þórðarson in 1934 and poet Steinn Steinarr in 1943, both for insults against Nazi Germany.
Italy Impugning the honour or prestige of the president of Italy is punishable with one to five years in jail. This includes personal offences made regarding their exercise of powers or otherwise, with no distinction between past or current events or between the public and private spheres.
In 2019, former Northern League leader Umberto Bossi was sentenced to a year and 15 days in jail after using the ethnic slur terrone in reference to former president Giorgio Napolitano's southern origins, but was later pardoned by the then-president Sergio Mattarella.
Similarly, it is also illegal to violate the prestige of foreign flags and emblems; a similar law concerning foreign heads of state was repealed in 1999.
Poland
In Poland, it is illegal to insult foreign heads of state publicly.
On 5 January 2005, left-wing magazine publisher Jerzy Urban was sentenced by a Polish court to a fine of 20,000 złoty (about €5,000, £3,400 or US$6,200) for having insulted Pope John Paul II, a visiting head of state. On 26–27 January 2005, 28 human rights activists were temporarily detained by the Polish authorities for allegedly insulting Vladimir Putin, a visiting head of state. The activists were released after about 30 hours, and only one was actually charged with insulting a foreign head of state.
Article 135 of the Polish penal code states that anyone who publicly insults () the President of Poland is punishable by up to three years of imprisonment. Prior to March 2021, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal declared the law consistent with the Polish constitution and Polish international treaty obligations, arguing that the effective carrying out of the duties of the president requires having authority and being especially respected.
, there had been at least one conviction, and there were several ongoing legal cases under the law. In December 2020, a man in Toruń was sentenced to six months of community service, 20 hours per month, under lèse-majesté, for having drawn a penis on a poster of president Andrzej Duda. The man's act of writing "five years of shame" on the poster and drawing an "X" symbol on the president's image were not considered insulting by the judge in the final hearing. On 23 March 2021, three pupils appeared in court in Kalisz for a 10-minute incident in June 2020 in Sulmierzyce, in which a family member of a town councillor video-recorded the pupils pulling down a poster of president Andrzej Duda, cutting the poster, using insulting words, and proposing to burn the poster. , the three pupils risked three years' imprisonment under lèse-majesté.
The writer and journalist Jakub Żulczyk was charged under lèse-majesté in March 2021 for referring to president Andrzej Duda as a "moron" () in online social media in the context of comments criticising Duda's description of Joe Biden's 2020 United States presidential election victory.
Portugal In Portugal, honor is considered to be an important right protected by the constitution."Article 26.º - (Other personal rights)", Constitution of the Portuguese Republic The 180th article of the Portuguese penal code establishes the notion of crimes against honor, making any statement of fact or any judgement expressed either verbally, visually or by other means, that is offensive to the honor of an individual either to a 3rd party or to the targeted person – even if it is in the form of suspicion and even if that person is deceased, up to 50 years – a criminal offense punishable with imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to 240 days. If the offense is directed towards either the assembly of the republic, the government, the courts, the council of state, the Public Ministry or any member of those, the prison time goes up from 6 months up to 2 years with an added fine. Any crime against the honor of the president is punishable with imprisonment from 6 months up to 3 years with an added fine. It is also illegal to prevent the president from fulfilling the duties of the office, or to incite any resident in Portugal or any member of the military to do so or to make them rise up against the authority of the president.
Russia In March 2019, the Russian Federal Assembly passed a law criminalising publication of online statements that are found "indecent" or "disrespectful" towards the President of Russia or other state and government officials, stipulating fines of up to 100,000 roubles for first-time offenders, and 200,000 roubles or up to 15 days imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Spain
Articles 490 and 491 of the criminal code govern "insults to the Crown" (). Any person who defames or insults the king, the queen, their ancestors or their descendants can be imprisoned for up to two years.Spain. Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal [Constitutional Law 10/1995, of 23 November, on the Criminal Code] (in Spanish). BOE no 281, 24 November 1995. Retrieved 16 July 2019. The Spanish satirical magazine was fined for violation of Spain's lèse-majesté laws after publishing an issue with a caricature of the then Prince of Asturias, current King Felipe VI, and his wife engaging in sexual intercourse on the cover of one of their issues in 2007.
On 23 December 2020, the Audiencia Nacional summoned 12 individuals accused of offence against the crown for having pulled down mock statues of Christopher Columbus and incumbent King Felipe VI on the Day of Hispanity in Pamplona earlier that year, following a report drawn up by the National Police and Civil Guard, as stated by the accused.
On 13 March 2018, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Spain for punishing with imprisonment two protesters in Girona, Catalonia, convicted of burning pictures depicting the King of Spain. On 17 February 2021, there were huge protests over rapper Pablo Hasél's arrest for violation of lèse-majesté laws, among others crimes. Later that year, Belgium denied the extradition to Spain of the Catalan rapper Valtonyc, prosecuted for allegedly insulting the king and incitement to terrorism.
Switzerland In Switzerland, it is illegal to insult foreign heads of state publicly.
Any person who publicly insults a foreign state in the person of its head of state, the members of its government, its diplomatic representatives, its official delegates to a diplomatic conference taking place in Switzerland, or one of its official representatives to an international organisation or department thereof based or sitting in Switzerland is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty.
Turkey