International speech crimes are acts of speech which are criminalized under international law.

Incitement to genocide Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is considered an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject t ...

is one example, but the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded m ...

and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted some defendants of crimes against humanity based on speech acts. For example, Serb politician

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal ...

was indicted for crimes against humanity, including "war propaganda and incitement of hatred towards non-Serb people". Serbian politician

Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...

was convicted of "participating in a

joint criminal enterprise Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsib ...

to commit crimes against humanity on the basis of his public speeches and broadcasts".

Dario Kordić Dario Kordić (born 14 December 1960) is a Bosnian Croat former politician from the Croatian Democratic Union, military commander of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) between 1992 and 1994, vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosn ...

and

Radoslav Brđanin Radoslav Brđanin (9 February 1948 – 7 September 2022) was a Bosnian Serb political leader and a war criminal. In 2004 he was sentenced to 32 years imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for crimes commi ...

were also convicted of crimes based on instigating violence in public speeches.

References

Sources

* * * {{international criminal law International criminal law Speech crimes