‘Hate Speech’ in Contemporary Local Government - Experiences and Prospects for change

Contemporary local government faces new challenges in protecting democracy from ‘hate speech’ against councillors and members of executive bodies in local government. This violence has different forms and different aspects. Its counteraction includes legal instruments in terms of criminal, civil and administrative law. There is also a whole range of non-legal measures that create the possibility to actually fight against ‘hate speech’ against the representatives of indirect democracy who represent us in local government. The problem of ‘hate speech’ is widespread and multidimensional; therefore, this article will highlight the various definitional elements, the normative context and a catalogue of legal (especially in the administrative aspect) and non-legal instruments. Good practices and recommendations in this research field will also be presented. They are aimed at protecting local democracy for the sake of local government as a fundamental element of the decentralisation of state power and the rule of law. The security of councillors affects the level of authority of local and regional government, and thus the condition of democracy in the state as a whole.