Memory and Punishment. Historical Denialism, Free Speech and the Limits of Criminal Law

This book gives an overview of the introduction and evolution of the crime of denialism from synchronic as well as diachronic perspectives. The analysis includes different normative and judicial levels; it draws clear distinctions between potentially overlapping terms and combines a large interdisciplinary spectrum with a strict criminal law methodology. The author does not investigate denialism as phenomenon, instead she concentrates rigorously on the criminalisation of denialist practices as a speech crime in Europe and discusses the implications of protecting historical institutional memory through criminal law. In doing so, the book goes beyond mere description; it also highlights problematic issues, i.e. those related to freedom of speech and the relation between criminal law and historical memory. Of great interest is the manner in which the criminalisation of denialism is related to major legal dynamics of the present time, namely the pivotal role of criminal law in the construction of a collective memory and the proliferation of ‘new’ speech crimes. The book demonstrates the importance of a comparative study on denialism in a time of post-truth where the border between truth and false is hard to distinguish. It paves the way for a broader discussion about freedom of expression in a digital world, about fake news and post-truth scenarios, and ultimately about the need to protect ascertained and verified facts from the pollution of misinformation and the tools with which to do so. In the so-called post-truth era, it becomes paramount to define the principles of what can and cannot be told, and to draw a line between the two areas. Historic denialism and the related jurisdiction represent a key step in exploring this complex field.