Draft law introducing in Penal Code incitation to hatred transposes EC Framework decision (PSD's Vicol)

The chair of the Legal Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat Laura Vicol, said, on Tuesday, that the draft law that introduces in the Penal Code the incitation of the public, through any means, to violence, hatred or discrimination, re-examined by the Parliament at the request of President Klaus Iohannis, transposes into Romanian legislation a Framework Decision of the European Commission, Agerpres reports.

"This legislative initiative has reached the agenda of the Parliament in February last year, when the Government had within it the USR [Save Romania Union]. It is thus an initiative on the part of the Government in which they requested the transposing of the Framework Decision. (...) Thus, the European Commission requested, through an address, the transposing of the Framework Decision into Romanian legislation. The Government that the USR was part of put this initiative on the table of the Parliament, the legislative initiative passed in May in the Plenum of the Parliament, President Klaus Iohannis challenged it at the Constitutional Court [CCR] and won, the law returned to Parliament, it was adopted by the Senate and later came to us, in the Legal Committee in the Chamber of Deputies," said Laura Vicol, in Parliament.

According to her, the amendment mentioned there that was wrongly related to her name is an amendment adopted in the Senate and promulgated in this law.

Laura Vicol emphasized that all the amendment mentions is part of this Framework Decision requested by the European Commission in view of transposing it to Romanian legislation.

"We will enter infringement procedures if we do not respect the text of the Framework Decision exactly. We have already tried to do this, being in opposition, last year, when the law was on the table of the Parliament, yet as long as the President of Romania won at the CCR, we will respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court and what the European Commission requests, as EU member state. We were practically obligated to transpose this Framework Decision into Romanian legislation. Ultimately, I believe that we should all respect each other, respect the freedom of the press, but be in equal measure careful to everything we say," Laura Vicol added.

The plenum of the Chamber of Deputies adopted on Monday a draft law by which the incitation of the public, through any means, to violence, hatred or discrimination is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or by fine.

"The incitation of the public, through any means, to violence, hatred or discrimination against a category of persons or against a person for being part of a certain category of persons defined by criteria of race, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, political opinion or appurtenance, wealth, social origin, age, disability, chronic non-contagious diseases or HIV/AIDS infections believed by the perpetrator as causes of inferiority of a person in relation to others is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or by fine," the draft law says.

The project transposes an article of Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.

The Chamber of Deputies is the deciding chamber in this case.