Princes and prophets: democracy and the defamation of power

Herrenberg, T. (2022)

Doctoral Thesis

This thesis deals with three restrictions on freedom of expression, namely 1) lèse-majesté (the insult to the national head of state; the monarch in a monarchy, or the president in a republic), 2) the defamation of foreign heads of state, and 3) blasphemy (insulting religion or religious symbols). This thesis examines the background of these speech crimes, their (international) legal status, as well as their relationship to democratic free speech theory.

• Freedom of expression
• Free speech
• Blasphemy
• Foreign heads of state
• Lèse-majesté
• Article 10 ECHR
• Article 19 ICCPR

• All authors: Herrenberg, T.
• Supervisor: Cliteur, P.B.; Rijpkema, B.R.
• Committee: Daalder, E.S.; Ellian, A.; Janse, R.; Koops, E.; Schyff, G. van der
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Law, Faculty of Law, Leiden University
• Date: 2022-06-01