QUO VADIS, VILIFICATION? ON THE (UN)JUSTIFIED CUTBACK OF CRIMINAL LAW PROTECTION OF HONOR AND REPUTATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA- EUROPEAN STANDARDS AS DIRECTIONS FOR REGULATION

Abstract

The fifth Criminal Code amendment made at the end of 2019 narrowed the scope of criminal law protection of honor and reputation by deletion of the incrimination of severe vilification. This legislative move resulted in noticeable illogicalities. Therefore, this research examines the reasons for this legislative intervention, in order to assess its justification. Due to the required range of argumentation from several aspects, the research is presented in two parts. The first part deals with historical, positive and comparative arguments, while the second part examines the Convention standards and positions of the European Court of Human Rights in the application of the criminal law mechanism in the field of protection of honor and reputation through two convention rights - freedom of expression and right to privacy. The research outcome reveals that criminal law mechanism for the protection of honor and reputation is in line with convention standards and that quality protection of mentioned two rights requires a balanced national solution given that, according to the Court, they are equally important. It is pointed out that the challenges lie in the proportionate punishment, and that these challenges are equally present in the field of civil law in determining the amount of damages. Overall, both the first and second parts of the research indicate that the reasons for deletion of severe villification, available to the public, cannot present sufficient arguments for this legislative intervention, so it is argued that pro futuro regulation should be guided by more thoughtful and careful steps.