Gayssot Act - Legal Challenges

Legal Challenges

After Robert Faurisson was removed from his university chair under the Gayssot Act, he challenged it as a violation of his right to freedom of expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Human Rights Committee upheld the condemnation of Faurisson, but mentioned that the Gayssot Act may be too broad. There have been questions and criticisms as to why the French Constitutional Court has stated that the Gayssot Act is constitutional but declared that the 2012 Armenian Genocide Denial Law was unconstitutional because it violated the freedom of speech. Critics have questioned that if the Gayssot Act is constitutional, then the 2012 Armenian genocide law should also be constitutional because both laws violate the freedom of speech. Critics have pointed out to hypocrisy in the French constitutional court.