The text deserves to be viewed , studied, debated in all schools in France , alongside the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789. A dozen pages, the judgment delivered on 22 March 2007 by the 17th chamber of the Paris Criminal Court in the cartoons of Mohammed, is a masterful civics lesson . They open on this solemn reminder : " Whereas in France , secular and pluralistic society , respect for all beliefs is associated with the freedom to criticize religion whatsoever and that of representing subjects or objects of religious veneration ; blasphemy , contempt which the deity or religion , is not repressed (,.) .They conclude : "Whereas Charlie Hebdo is a satirical newspaper, containing numerous caricatures that no one is forced to buy or read (,.); any amounts to a caricature portrait that overcomes good taste to fill a parody (,.) function ; the literary genre of the cartoon , though deliberately provocative, participates as freedom of expression and of thought and opinion (,.); thus, despite the shocking or offensive, this cartoon to the sensibility of Muslims, the context and the circumstances of its publication in the newspaper Charlie Hebdo shown exclusive of any deliberate intention to offend directly and free all Muslims ; the allowable limits of freedom of expression have therefore not been exceeded." The newspaper, which was charged with" insulting religion "by two Muslim organizations , is relaxed. The judgment was confirmed a year later by the Court of Appeal of Paris. He says two centuries of national history , political and religious tensions that have built , brick by brick , the fortress of freedom of expression and its counterpart, the right to humor and caricature . The French Revolution had proclaimed before choking soon .The Empire and the Restoration have continued to set her limits. In the 1830s , Honore Daumier, Charles Philipon – with his drawings pears of King Louis -Philippe – were sentenced to prison terms for their caricatures. Louis -Philippe in 1835 PhiliponLa law prepared by Adolphe Thiers, then Interior Minister , granted protected status caricature of the " genre " but provides that " insulting the king, when it is intended to excite hatred or contempt of his person or his constitutional authority , is an attack on state security . "Fifty years later , the law on freedom of the press in 1881 , passed under the Third Republic , very strict framework disrespect between the terminals of injury, the indecent , insulting the president of the of the Republic or foreign heads of state and the right of image. It must span the century and two wars that another revolution, that of May 1968 make a decisive step to freedom of expression and the right to humor ."It is well Cabu , Wolinski and others who were the first carried the excess and irreverence in previously proscribed drawings because considered too vulgar or licentious ," says the lawyer specialist law Press Basile Ader . This is also to Charlie Hebdo that one must wait a principle which has now become law , said the lawyer : it appears in a judgment delivered in 1991 by the Court of Appeal of Paris , according to that " one must tolerate rude and provocative impropriety , sarcastic disrespect of good taste which the appreciation of each remains free, which can not be perceived without considering their vocation openly satirical and humorous , which allows exaggerations , deformations and presentations ironic . "The cartoon , which comes etymologically from the Italian caricare verb ( "load "), is a load , said the lawyer Frederic Gras in a very informative article, "The French tradition of protecting the caricature ." Because it is always unpleasant, even painful or unbearable, the judge may make its assessment of the susceptibility of one who believes victim , except to significantly restrict the principle of freedom of expression and the right to humor.A countdown of what fell in 1913 the lawyer Henri Fougerol – the cartoonist " always endeavor to keep the tone of the fine joke and Gallic irony " – jurisprudence born with Charlie Hebdo admits that the comedian can not not funny. The same caution applies to the judge, who does not have to be determined according to its own susceptibility. "The judge is the judge of good taste ," says Basile Ader . It is mainly the European Court of Human Rights that must enshrining the principle of freedom of expression.In 1976 founder judgment it emphasized that "freedom of expression is applicable not only to information or ideas fervently or regarded as inoffensive but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population. Such are the demands of pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no democratic society ". It is in this light that the 17th chamber judge each day complaints submitted to it .But if they have stopped falling , the boundaries of freedom of expression and the right to humor do exist . " The caricature and satire being abusive by nature, limits the right to humor should be considered abuse of abuse ," notes Mr. Basile Ader . For public officials, who must admit that the cartoon is the consideration for the notoriety, the limits are not to cross defamation , libel , contempt , defamation or invasion of privacy.Satirical newspapers have , as such , a " humorous presumption" that protects more than the so-called serious publications . Humor also can not be used to mask what the law calls " illegitimate goals," such as incitement to racial hatred, insult to a group because of their religious affiliation, the injury to dignity human or personal animosity . This subtle distinction between legitimate and illegitimate goals is at the heart of misunderstanding and controversy qu’entretiennent supporters of Dieudonné .For judges , the yellow line is crossed when the insult , even if imposed by someone claiming the status of comedian reached a " whole " community. In a 2007 decision , the court will consider as well as about Dieudonné – "Jews , it is a cult , a scam. This is a more serious because it is the first "- do not fall " of free criticism of religion , participant in a debate of general interest, but are an insult against a group of people because of its origin, the punishment is a necessary restriction on freedom of expression in a democratic society ".In 2006, however Judges dismiss their prosecution Catholic groups who felt insulted by two documents: a picture of "holy Capote ," a religious with bare shoulders next to a condom, and a poster , commercial parody the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. In both cases , the judges note that these documents , even if they could be perceived as offensive, did not " aim to insult the faithful Catholic, nor impair their consideration because of their obedience " and therefore they do not exceed the limits of freedom of expression.This is the same reasoning that led the following year , the 17th Chamber relax Charlie Hebdo about the publication of certain cartoons of Mohammed . The cartoons , while the court considers are not a racial insult because they " clearly intended a fraction and not the whole of the Muslim community ." Tuesday, January 6 , representatives of the main religions of Alsace and Moselle , including Islam , took part in a joint hearing before the Paris Observatory secularism.Unanimously, they asked for the repeal of blasphemy , a survival of the German law remained in effect in these departments even after their attachment to France in 1918. This offense , they emphasized , is completely fallen into disuse. The day after the meeting, Sharif brothers and Said Kouachi left the office of Charlie Hebdo, which they had to decimate writing , screaming in the street : " We killed Charlie, the Prophet is avenged.»Report this content as inappropriate .
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