Memory Laws or Memory Loss? Europe in Search of Its Historical Identity through the National and International Law

• Authors: Gliszczyńska-Grabias Aleksandra
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article provides an overview of “memory laws” in Europe, reflecting upon what may be called the “asymmetry” of such laws. It then looks at the special case of Poland and its troubled experience with memory laws; it considers the question of whether, in the eyes of the law – genocide, and in particular the Holocaust – is so “special” that its public denials warrant legal intervention. It also looks at the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and its (not necessarily coherent) “doctrine” on memory laws and their consistency, or otherwise, with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (and in particular with freedom of expression as laid down in Art. 10). The article concludes by asserting that even if we take the law as an indicator of European public memory, there is no consensus on the past, except perhaps for the special case of the Holocaust. The main challenge lies in determining whether memory laws, defined by some as social engineering and the imposition of “imperative” versions of memory, are consistent with the principles inherent in open, democratic and free societies in Europe. This challenge remains unmet.

Keywords

EN

ECHR; ECtHR; European Convention on Human Rights; European Court of Human Rights; genocide; Holocaust; memory law; Poland

• Publisher: Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN / Institute of Legal Studies PAN
• Journal: Polish Yearbook of International Law
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 34
• Pages: 161-186

Dates

published

2015-07-25

Contributors

author

Gliszczyńska-Grabias Aleksandra

• Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN

Identifiers

DOI

10.7420/pyil2014h