The Use of Totalitarian Symbols and the Regulation of Hate or Insulting Speech

Abstract

The study examines the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the use of totalitarian symbols in light of the Vajnai v. Hungary judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The authors analyze the implications of the Court’s decision for Hungarian law, focusing on Section 269/B of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the public use of totalitarian symbols such as the red star. The paper highlights inconsistencies in the Hungarian Constitutional Court’s reasoning regarding the balance between freedom of expression and the protection of human dignity, and it argues for a revision of the current legislation. The authors propose that the prohibition should not target the mere display of such symbols but rather the intentional use of them to promote totalitarian ideologies or to offend human dignity.