Anti-Hate Speech Amendment 2025

Anti-Hate Speech Amendment 2025

Passed by the Senate and signed by the President on 19 May 2025.

The constitutional referendum failed on 25 May 2025.

Section 1: Criminal Code Amendment

§1. Article 55a of the Criminal Code 2020, Hate Speech, shall be amended to read as follows:

    Ҥ1. A person commits hate speech if they:
         §1.1. Submit, post, or relay speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or a group of people’s protected characteristics, and
         §1.2. Had the intention to upset, demean, or humiliate, or acted carelessly or recklessly as to whether their actions would upset, demean, or humiliate.
    §2. For the purposes of this Article, a person shall always be considered as submitting, posting, or relaying speech that is upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating about a person’s or a group of people’s protected characteristics if they:
         §2.1. Use a slur, which is any derogatory or insulting term applied to a group of persons classed by a protected characteristic, or
         §2.2. Claim to identify as a purported gender with the purpose to upset, demean, or humiliate a person’s or group of people’s protected characteristic.
    §3. The fact that the upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating speech was not directed to a specific person or group of people is immaterial to establishing criminal liability under this Article.
         §3.1. The fact that the upsetting, demeaning, or humiliating speech did not subjectively upset, demean, or humiliate a specific person or group of persons is immaterial to establishing criminal liability under this Article.
    §4. The sentences available for hate speech shall be a mute or ban of a duration above one (1) month.”

Section 2: Constitutional Amendment

Rejected in referendum on on 25 May 2025

§2. Article 16, Freedom of Expression, §3 and §3.1 shall be repealed.

§3. Article 15, Equality before the law, §3 shall be amended to read: “§3. Protected characteristics shall include but are not limited to, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or social origin, ethnicity, age, disability, and political beliefs.”