Supposing my party was standing for election and we decided that for instance rape or murder of old grannies or something similar would be made legal or even compulsory if we got into power because we believed it would be a good thing.
Would we be allowed to proclaim how wonderful this was and encourage everyone to do it in our election rallies?
AFAIK,we wouldn’t be breaking any laws,since if we were to get into power,the law would be changed so our rapists or granny-murderers wouldn’t be committing a crime, and if we weren’t to get in,then we wouldn’t go ahead with it so we wouldn’t be breaking the law.
Not that I’m planning it…well depends on what Labour’s like at the next election…
Well, you CAN make that promise, as long as you wait to actually start raping people until AFTER the laws are changed. Also, it would be very difficult to get elected that way, and actually get the proposed changes into effect. But yes, I believe you are legally allowed to promise anything you want to.
Not a lawyer, but…
If, during your campaign speeches, you’re encouraging your supporters to go out and perform these illegal acts, you very probably would be breaking laws regarding incitement to commit a crime. Promising to make it legal if you get elected wouldn’t be an excuse, since it was illegal when you gave your encouragement. If you actually succeeded in making it legal, however, your case might stand a good chance of being dismissed, punished very lightly, or overturned on appeal.
I’m arguing from US law, btw. Your jurisdiction may vary.
OK but if I’m only encouraging people to go and commit their actsonce we’ve won the election and they will be legal then I can’t see the problem.I can’t be inciting them to commit a crime since when they actually do them,it won’t be criminal.You surely can’t be prosecuted for inciting people to do something in the future when it is legal even though it’s illegal now.
You don’t have to push this too far as a hypothetical. I can recall a number of candidates running on a “legalize pot” platform.
And, of course, there’s the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in Britain, and the now-defunct but badly missedRhino Party here in Canada.
Our lawyers can refine or even correct this but I think you can make any false claim and promise you want to as long as you don’t use them to obtain something of value from someone. That would be fraud I think, but fraud is notoriously difficult to prove.
Actually the Monster Raving Loonies have produced some half-sensible policies-voting age at 18,all-day pub openings,pet passports. And at least they KNEW they were talking a complete load of rubbish most of the time.And they were fun!
And I remember other people saying they were evil and advocating breaking the law. (No, I couldn’t see it either, but people did believe that.)
Yeah, you can. It’s actually quite common for politicians to run on a type of platform that their position has nothing to do with - think of President Clinton’s health care platform in 1992, for example, that didn’t get executed because Congress didn’t pass the necessary legislation.
What you’re doing is campaigning on a platform of pressuring Parliament/Congress/the bunch of elected folk who make laws in the country you run in to pass repealers for the laws against rape or executing the elderly or what have you. Depending on the Constitution, you might also implicitly be promising to amend the Constitution.
In a strict majoritarian Parliamentary system, if this platform appeals to The People, you might actually be able to accomplish it.