ABSTRACT
Hate crime laws have largely developed in the second-half of the twentieth century, although violence motivated by hate or bias has been occurring for centuries. In Europe, the creation of hate crime laws can be observed in the interwar period, but was significantly heightened in the aftermath of World War II, which was marked by the rise of racist and nationalistic laws and policies as well as the tragic atrocities of the Holocaust. Hate crime and hate speech are closely related and are often used interchangeably, despite significant conceptual differences. In short, the underlying conduct in hate crime is already criminal with hate against a member (or members) of a specific group constituting an accompanying motive. Legal regulation of hate speech has proven controversial in a human rights context as it is directly counterbalanced by the protections concerning freedom of expression enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights as well as other international instruments.
