An expression as a criminal act – on the example of ‘insulting’ an object of religious worship

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the act of ‘insulting’ an object of religious worship, within the meaning of Article 196 of the Penal Code, in the wider context of ‘speech crime’ (crime whose essence is an act of expression, understood as an intentional transmission, manifestation of certain information or content by the perpetrator to specific or unspecified recipients). In the event of this type of crime, it is necessary to determine the meaning and the content of this conduct, perceived not only as a psychophysical act, and to assess the conduct in terms of the statutory features of a prohibited act. The crime of blasphemy set out in Article 196 of the Penal Code provides grounds for further considerations on the principles to be applied while determining the meaning of an act of expression. Presuming that every such act is a symbolic act, it is necessary to rely on conventions adopted by the recipients of this expression and on culturally determined meanings. The scope of criminalisation of the offence of blasphemy, as a speech crime, is determined not only by the provisions of criminal law in force but primarily by exceptionally variable, unstable and diverse cultural conventions and assumptions. Under the current social conditions, the formulation of the principles of selecting these conventions is necessary to be re-examined and the generally accepted model of ‘average social sensitivity’ ought to be abandoned.