- Defensive democracy
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Defensive Democracy is the philosophy that members of a democratic society believe it necessary to limit some rights and freedoms, in order to protect the institutions of the democracy.
Contents
Examples
Israel
After the extreme right wing Kach Party won representation to the Israeli parliament in 1984, Israel's Supreme Court outlawed the party and did not allow it to run again in the 1988 elections on the basis that the party advocates racism.
Europe
Ten countries in Europe have outlawed Holocaust denials: France (Loi Gayssot), Belgium (Belgian Holocaust denial law), Switzerland (article 261bis of the Penal Code), Germany (§ 130 (3) of the penal code), Austria (article 3h Verbotsgesetz 1947), Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Poland (article 55 of the law creating the Institute of National Remembrance 1998).
More notably, Germany maintains a domestic intelligence service, the Verfassungsschutz, whose main purpose is to investigate parties which may violate the constitutional bans on working to end the democratic nature of the state (in particular far-right and Communist parties).
Republic Of Korea (South Korea)
Learning from legislation of West Germany, National Assembly of Second Republic inserted Defensive Democracy in their Constitution in 1960. After that, Now in Sixth Republic, it remains in Constitution(§8(4) - esp.defensive democracy to prevent illegal parties) and has some procedures in other laws.
Categories:- Democracy
- Forms of government
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