Hate Crime Laws Versus Freedom of Speech in Estonia

The paper considers the development and effectiveness of laws prohibiting incitement to hatred based on different grounds. Against the backdrop of analysing acceptance of equal treatment principle in general, hate speech legislation provides a useful tool through which to consider how willing a legal system is to protect minorities from harm. The paper considers the historical development of hate crime laws in Estonia since re-independence, including a current draft Penal Code amendment Act that would bring Estonia's hate speech laws to an equal level with EU requirements.

Estonia is a country in which freedom of speech is highly valued, it ranks regularly in top positions in terms of freedom of speech, freedom of the media and internet freedom. The paper also tries to approach the topic whether this makes it more difficult to bring about adequate laws protecting against hate crimes and hate speech. Specific focus would be on LGBT related hate speech and on online hate speech.