Juridical Relations between Freedom of Artistic Expression and Protection of the Dignity of Religion in the Light of a Lawsuit over Theatrical Performances in the Czech Republic
Abstract
This paper deals with the legal regulation of the relationship between two human rights, freedom of artistic creation and protection of the value of religion as part of freedom of religion in the Czech Republic. It first gives an overview of three models of this relationship in three historical epochs: the period of democratic Czechoslovakia in the years 1918 to 1948 (excluding the period of World War II, where the protection of human rights was completely ignored), the period of domination of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1948 to 1989, that is, a period of general violations of human rights, and in a democratic society from 1989 (until 1992 in Czechoslovakia, from the disintegration of the Czechoslovak federation to January 1, 1993, in the Czech Republic). Most attention is paid to litigation caused by the presentation of two theater performances at the Brno Theater Festival in 2018. Both performances were directed by the Croat Oliver Frljić, known for controversial means of expression, often with a religious theme. The ensuing lawsuit, in which the then president of the Czech Bishops’ Conference was one of the plaintiffs, showed that the general courts preferred the protection of artistic freedom in the conflict between the two constitutionally guaranteed freedoms with only one significant restriction: vituperation or downsizing of beliefs. However, the dispute is not yet fully resolved: the plaintiffs have filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, which has not yet ruled on the matter. Consequently, an application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg cannot be ruled out.
Keywords
human rights; constitutional law; criminal law; freedom of artistic expression; religious freedom
References
Juridical Sources (sorted chronologically)
Kaiserliches Patent Nr. 117/1852 RGBl., wodurch eine neue, durch die späteren Gesetze ergänzte, Ausgabe des Strafgesetzbuches über Verbrechen und schwere Polizei-Uebertretungen vom 3. September 1803, mit Aufnahme mehrerer neuer Bestimmungen, als alleiniges Strafgesetz über Verbrechen, Vergehen und Uebertretungen für den ganzen Umfang des Reiches, mit Ausnahme der Militärgränze, kundgemacht, und vom 1. September 1852 angefangen in Wirksamkeit gesetzt wird.
Staatsgrundgesetz Nr. 142/1867 RGBl. vom 21. December 1867, über die allgemeinen Rechte der Staatsbürger für die im Reichsrathe vertretenen Königreiche und Länder.
Act No. 11/1918 Coll., on establishment of the independent Czechoslovak state.
Act No. 37/1918 Coll., on the Provisional Constitution.
Act No. 121/1920 Coll., which introduces the Constitutional Charter of the Czechoslovak Republic.
Constitutional act No. 150/1948 Coll., Constitution of the Czechoslovak Republic.
Act No. 86/1950 Sb., Penal Code.
Constitutional act No. 100/1960 Coll., Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialistic Republic.
Act No. 140/1961 Sb., Penal Code.
Constitutional act No. 143/1968 Coll., on the Czechoslovak Federation.
Constitutional act No. 135/1989 Coll., amending constitutional act No. 100/1960 Coll., the Constitution of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
Constitutional act No. 23/1991 Coll., which introduces the CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS as a constitutional act of the Federal Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic.
Constitutional act No. 460/1992 Coll., Constitution of the Slovak Republic.
Constitutional act No. 1/1993 Coll., Constitution of the Czech Republic.
Resolution of the Presidency of the Czech National Council No. 2/1993 Coll., on the promulgation of the CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS as part of the constitutional order of the Czech Republic.
Act No. 40/2009 Coll., Penal Code.
Act No. 89/2012 Coll., Civil Code.
Sentence of the Municipal Court in Brno File no. 112 C 88/2018-190 of 18 March 2019.
Sentence of the Regional Court in Brno File no. 70 Co 170/2019-243 of 20 November 2019.
Sentence of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic File no. 25 Cdo 1081/2020-282 of 28 April 2021.
Constitutional complaint of His Eminence ThLic. Dominik Duka and of JUDr. ICLic. Ronald Němec, Ph.D. of 4 August 2021.
Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic File No. II.ÚS 2120/21 of 4 October 2022, published on 11 October 2022.
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Palacký University in Olomouc Czechia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9960-2452
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