Wim:
As I write this I'm litened to a news story about an enviromental activist
who won a court case against the Federal Breau of Investigation for
violating his rights. Essentially, the police have been convicted of
committing a crime. They violated his rights in several ways. Not only did
they try to shut him up, they also dragged their feet in investigating an
attempt on his life. Rights can even protect cranks from the highest
authorities, and that's a good thing.
Wim said:
As far as I am concerned, you could have been a tad more concise...
DMB says:
Yea. That's true. I was trying TOO hard to be clear.
In Dutch practice, where judges and not juries decide on where the one ends
and the other begins, judges disagree on that (some judges tolerate a bit
more as 'just' being rude than others) and their average judgements change
in the course of time.
DMB says:
Principles are usually cleaner and clearer than is real life and nothing is
perfect, but that's ok.
Wim said:
Recently a man was arrested and convicted for insulting the Dutch crown
prince and his wife at their wedding by throwing white paint against their
carriage. He claimed to express some opinion ...
DMB says:
It seems the royal couple was not only insulted, they were assaulted and
their property was vandalized. In the course of expressing his opinion that
"speaker" committed a crime.
You wrote:
'Properly defined rights have boundaries so as to exclude the possiblity
that one person's rights DO NOT extend into another's.'
Does that imply that according to you Dutch law does not properly define the
right of freedom of speech and the right of the royal family (as a symbol of
Dutch unity) not to be insulted?
DMB says:
I know almost nothing about Dutch law. We're talking about rights as a
principle, as a legal concept. But I'd be surprized if Dutch law didn't give
a great deal of respect and honor to that principle. As I understand it,
your country is just about the most liberal nation on Earth. But no, I don't
mean to imply anything of the sort. The paint thrower went beyond his rights
and violated the rights of others. I think the Dutch Judge was right on.
Wim said:
Is the law always the frontier of our evolving sense/experience of justice?
DMB says:
Yes. Ideally, I think so. It might not be exactly at the cutting edge of
that evolution, but a good legal system tries to evolve with our sense of
justice. There are lawyers who bring cases for that specific purpose, to
push the envelope. I love those guys.
Wim said:
....you suppose a legal system that includes and consequently applies this
non-discrimination principle. I agree on the desirability of such a
situation, but I am not sure if the Dutch and American legal systems are
really free of discriminatory aspects.
DMB says:
Sadly, that's true. There's a distance between theory and practice.
Thanks
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