Law against Hatred

The Constitutional Law Against Hatred, for Peaceful Coexistence and Tolerance (Ley constitucional contra el odio, por la convivencia pacífica y la tolerancia), also known simply as the Law Against Hatred, is a law passed unanimously by the Venezuelan Constituent National Assembly and published in Gaceta Oficial 41,274 on 8 November 2017.

The bill was introduced to the Assembly on 10 August 2017 by President Nicolás Maduro and its discussion began on 4 September. The law establishes penalties that can include 20 years in jail, media shutdown, and fines to companies and electronic media.

The law is controversial and has been criticized in Venezuela. Its detractors say that it is designed to oppress political dissent by criminalizing it, establishing restrictions on personal freedom and promoting both censorship and self-censorship. The lack of powers of the Constituent Assembly to legislate has also been pointed out, and the National Assembly of Venezuela declared it as null and void "in rejection of the hate- and intolerance- generating instrument promoted by Nicolás Maduro and the fraudulent Constituent [National Assembly]", stating that the law violates Articles 49, 51, 57, 58, 62, 68 and 202 of the constitution.

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