Federal Constitutional Court: Racism is not protected by freedom of expression

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Building of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe (archive photo)

Photo: Arnulf Hettrich / imago images

Racist statements in the company are no longer covered by freedom of expression.

Addressing a dark-skinned colleague with "Ugah, ugah" therefore justifies the termination of a works council without notice, as the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe decided in a decision published on Tuesday

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During a works council meeting of a company there was a dispute about how to use an IT system.

The dispute was evidently heated, the complainant addressed a dark-skinned works council colleague with "Ugah, ugah".

He himself was insulted as a "hustler".

As the labor courts later clarified, "Ugah, ugah" was not a direct response.

The man was fired - which is particularly tricky with a works council.

He took it to the labor court and lost.

The next instance, the regional labor court, later confirmed this decision.

Because he saw his freedom of expression restricted, he turned to the Federal Constitutional Court.

"Fundamentally degrading"

The constitutional complaint was also unsuccessful.

The works council could not invoke its freedom of expression here.

Addressing a dark-skinned person with monkey noises is not just a crude insult, but "fundamentally degrading".

The Basic Law not only protects freedom of expression, it also turns against racial discrimination, emphasized the Karlsruhe judges.

The labor courts would have weighed both correctly.

"According to this, human dignity is touched when a person is addressed not as a person but as an ape."

In addition, the case apparently has a history; it was not the first such statement by the man in the company.

For this reason, he had already received a warning earlier, which, according to the constitutional judges, was "ineffective".

Against this background, the employer has a duty of care towards the discriminated colleague, the dismissal protects against further racist attacks.

And these, the judges make it clear, are an attack on a fundamental right: on human dignity.

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mamk / AFP