3 ms·
It needs to be parsed like this Whosoever insults [a foreign head of state], or, [with respect to his position, a member of a foreign government who is in Germ
by germanier 11y ago
It needs to be parsed like this
Whosoever insults [a foreign head of state], or, [with respect to his position, a member of a foreign government who is in Germany in his official capacity], or [a head of a foreign diplomatic mission who is accredited in the Federal territory] shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine, in case of a slanderous insult to imprisonment from three months to five years.
- chris_wot 11y agoI don't suppose it say how big the fine must be? Could they fine the comedian 1 Deutschmark? That would make a pretty clear point that the Court wasn't impressed with the entire process...
- germanier 11y agoWell the fine would be in Euro ;) Apart from the usual rules there is nothing specific about the fine in that law, no. They would need to fine him at least five days worth of income if I haven't missed something. But a symbolic fine is really unlikely. Much more important than the amount fined is the label "guilty" or "not guilty". I can't see how they would rule him guilty but resort to a token fine in that case. If the court thinks the law should not be applied, they will find a reason not to. I just quoted the entire provision (where the wording and length is absolutely standard for a German criminal law). There are no boxes which when ticked would result in an automatic conviction. The courts have a great degree of freedom to decide their cases. (Usually they base it on older decisions by higher courts which usually spell out what criteria should be used to interpret a law.)
- chris_wot 11y agoWhoops! That's embarrassing, sorry about that... I'm very interested in how this plays out.