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Fri 9 Jul, 2004 07:09 pm
ROME (Reuters) - A driver who told a parking attendant "You are nobody!" has felt the weight of Italy's legal system, which ruled the seemingly innocuous words constituted slander -- and fined him heavily.
The tiff over a parking space led to Giulio C. being fined 300 euros (200 pounds) plus 500 euros legal costs when a court in the northeast city of Trieste turned down his appeal.
The court ruled the phrase 'you are nobody' "means precisely 'you are a nonentity' and to state that a person is a nonentity is certainly offensive because it is damaging to the dignity of a person."
The decision led celebrated Corriere della Sera commentator Beppe Severgnini to recall in his column on Friday that this was not the first time Italian appeal courts had deliberated on the definition of slander.
Indeed, over the years a sort of "guide to legitimate offence" has been formulated and Severgnini, quoting the courts, gave a few of the more common examples.
"Ball-breaker" is not slander because although "an undoubtedly rude expression it is now in common usage."
"I'll kick your arse" also passes muster because this is a "robust reaction which should be understood in a figurative way."
Under Italian law, the crime of slander is punishable by a maximum fine of 516 euros.
It's weird; 'communist' is also a slanderous term there too, if applied incorrectly. I would approve; but their application of slander is all over the place, to say the least!
Re: "You are nobody!" is slander in Italy
Col Man wrote:Under Italian law, the crime of slander is punishable by a maximum fine of 516 euros.
From the German criminal code:
Quote:Section 185 Insult
Insult shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine and, if the insult is committed by means of violence, with imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine.
Section 186 Malicious Gossip
Whoever asserts or disseminates a fact in relation to another, which is capable of maligning him or disparaging him in the public opinion, shall, if this fact is not demonstrably true, be punished with imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine and, if the act was committed publicly or through the dissemination of writings (Section 11 subsection (3)), with imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine.
Section 187 Defamation
Whoever, against his better judgment, asserts or disseminates an untrue fact in relation to another, which maligns him or disparages him in the public opinion or is capable of endangering his credit, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than two years or a fine, and, if the act was committed publicly, in a meeting or through dissemination of writings (Section 11 subsection (3)), with imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine.
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