Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Bill 2022

Public bill · Government · Presented

The bill would replace the 1989 hate speech law with clearer rules on inciting violence or hatred, and it would also create a new offence for denying, condoning or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It would make several existing crimes—such as assault, threats, harassment, public disorder and criminal damage—more serious when they are driven by hatred of a person’s race, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, gender or other protected characteristic, and it would also let judges treat hate motive as an aggravating factor in sentencing. It matters because it gives Gardaí and the courts stronger tools to respond to hate-motivated crime while trying to protect free expression and lawful criticism.

Formal long title

Bill entitled an Act to provide for certain offences aggravated by hatred in the Criminal Damage Act 1991, the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 and the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997; for that purpose, to provide for amendments of those and other enactments; to provide in respect of certain offences for hatred against a person or a group of persons on account of certain characteristics (referred to as protected characteristics) of the person or the group of persons to be an aggravating factor in sentencing for those offences; and to provide for related matters.

Last updated 4 November 2024