Religious Vilification Laws in New Zealand: Should the Freedom of Expression Be Taken as Gospel?

58 Pages Posted: 7 Jun 2016

See all articles by Fran Barber

Fran Barber

Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka - Faculty of Law, Student/Alumni

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

With ever-increasing multiculturalism and diversity within New Zealand, this paper explores the potential for religious vilification laws to be passed in order to promote community tolerance. New Zealand’s Human Rights Act 1993 includes both civil and criminal offences for the incitement of hostility on the grounds of race. There is no commensurate provision protecting religion. This paper considers the harm that religious vilification laws seek to remedy, and whether their efficacy in preventing this harm is proportionate to the incursion upon the freedom of expression. Ultimately, it suggests that while there are real harms associated with religious hate speech, the adversarial legal system is a flawed instrument through which to deal with it.

Keywords: religious vilification, Human Rights Act 1993, freedom of expression, Islamic Council of Victoria v Catch the Fire Ministries, Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001

JEL Classification: K14

Suggested Citation

Barber, Fran, Religious Vilification Laws in New Zealand: Should the Freedom of Expression Be Taken as Gospel? (2014). Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper, Student/Alumni Paper No. 22/2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2790663

Fran Barber (Contact Author)

Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka - Faculty of Law, Student/Alumni ( email )

PO Box 600
Wellington, 6140
New Zealand

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