Saxony’s Minister of Justice, Constanze Geiert (CDU), is calling for the abolition of the criminal offense criteria related to insulting politicians. She argues that the current provisions of Paragraph 188 of the Criminal Code are failing to achieve their intended goal.
Speaking to “Spiegel”, Geiert stated that the current situation means that high-profile politicians frequently appear in the headlines because seemingly trivial or minor incidents are classified as punishable offenses. Critically, she points out that the thousands of local politicians, who should have been the primary beneficiaries of this protection, are not seeing any benefit. Insults against local politicians continue in their daily routines without consequence. Furthermore, cases involving local politicians rarely gain significant traction in criminal prosecution because public focus is often directed toward federal or state politicians. Geiert further described this disparity as “a two-tier criminal justice system.”
She emphasized that the standard provisions for insults (Paragraph 185) are sufficient for the general public and apply equally to everyone, regardless of whether they are a prominent politician or a citizen. She noted the institutional challenges: federal and state politicians might employ specialized staff to handle insult prosecutions and monitor the internet, while prosecutors often decide whether a formal complaint is necessary or act purely based on their own discretion. Geiert added that if an insult were directed against her online, she would wish to have the personal right to decide whether to file a criminal complaint.
The CDU politician plans to present an initiative seeking the repeal of Paragraph 188 of the Criminal Code at the Justice Ministers Conference, which begins in Hamburg this Thursday. This specific paragraph criminalizes “insults, defamation, and slander directed at persons in political life.”
