European Court of Human Rights

Case: Sugg and Dobbs vs Sweden (28 August 2001) (see text here)
Issue: use os symbols of the repressive past
Summary of the decision: On 3 January 1998 Swedish police arrested two individuals present in a concert for having done so-called “Hitler salutes” with their arms and shouting the words “Sieg heil”. One of them was the singer of an American rock group that performed at the concert and the other was a member of the audience. They were later indicted for agitation against a national or ethnic group and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment.
The appellate Court had regard to the travaux préparatoires to chapter 16, section 8 of the Criminal Code and to a judgment by the Supreme Court of 17 October 1996  concerning the use of Nazi symbols and concluded that the “Hitler salute” and the words “Sieg heil” were clear manifestations of Nazism and racist ideology and expressed contempt for other persons on account of their race or colour. 
The individuals complained before the ECtHR that they had been convicted of a crime not clearly described by law.  The Court recalled that it is, in the first instance, for the national authorities and courts to interpret and apply domestic law. In the present case, the Court of Appeal had regard to the travaux préparatoires to the relevant legal provision and to Supreme Court case-law in finding that the applicants’ conduct constituted a criminal offence. The case-law, which had been published and was accessible, supplemented the letter of the legal provision and was such as to sufficiently enable the applicants to regulate their conduct. As a consequence, the ECtHR declared inadmissible the complaint.