d) Public Incitement to Disobedience of the Law

offence instigated, the instigator would be an accomplice of the author of that offence40 .

(d) Public Incitement to Disobedience of the Law

“Whosoever shall publicly incite to the disobedience of the law, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or with a fine (ammenda)" . (Section 70)

This provision was added by the said Ordinance VIII of 1909, and, like the preceding one, was modelled on art. 247 of the Italian Code of 1889, but those parts of that article which contemplated the offence known as "Apologia del delitto", that is glorifying or excusing the commission of a crime, and the offence of incitement to class hatred, were omitted because, as the Crown Advocate observed, the omitted provisions had been made the subject of strong censure by all the jurists in Italy on the ground that they constituted a danger to the liberty of the citizen and lent themselves as a means of stifling public discussion by preventing the expression of political opinions which might be obnoxious to the powers that be. These objections did not apply to the part of that article upon which our provision was framed. "Nothing in this provision," the Crown Advocate said, "lends itself to misconstruction. The offence consists in a public instigation to the disobedience of the law. You have only to find out what the law imposes and whether a public instigation has been made to its disobedience […] If the law is bad there are legal remedies but instigation to disobey the law because it is bad is certainly not a legal remedy and so long as the law is in force, no one can claim to be justified in inciting others to disobey it"41 .

In other words, this provision is not designed to prevent or make criminal candid, full and free discussion of any public matter which is the right of every citizen. The law may be criticized freely and liberally. The provision under reference does not seek to put any narrow construction on the expressions used but interferes only when plainly and deliberately the limits are passed of frank and candid and honest discussion or criticism and degenerates into a public incitement to the disobedience of the law.

40 Maino, op. cit., art. 246, para. 1227 41 Debates, loc. cit., pg. 325