Disputing the Indisputable. Genocide Denial and Freedom of Expression in the Perinçek v. Switzerland (Grand Chamber) Judgement of the European Court of Human Rights.

The article examines the Grand Chamber Judgment of the ECtHR in the Perinçek v Switzerland case, first ever in which the Court deals with the criminalisation of the denial or gross minimisation of a genocide other than the Shoah. In contrast with its previous case law on Holocaust denial, the Court disentangles the conflict between the criminal protection of the dignity of victims and the freedom of expression of the applicant striking the balance in favour of the second. The paper analyses this jurisprudential landmark in light of a critique of the notion of 'militant democracy' (as elaborated by Loewenstein) in the fight against racism and xenophobia, and in favour of a 'radical democracy' model based on tolerance, prioritizing the indispensable (and possibly more effective) extra-legal means to combat genocide denials, as well as anti-democratic ideologies.