Book Reviews Guyaz, Alexandre. L’incrimination de la discrimination raciale. Berne: Editions Stæmpfli & Cie S.A., 1996. Pp. 335. In a thesis successfully submitted for the degree of Ph.D in Law at the University of Lausanne, Alexandre Guyaz analyses the new Article 261 bis of the Swiss Penal Code, which makes punishable the public incitement to racial hatred or discrimination. This article came into effect on 1 January 1995. Its introduction caused a heated debate in the Swiss Federal Assembly and required the consent of the Swiss people by way of referendum. After an explanation of the etymology of the term ‘race’ and a review of various racist theories, the author addresses the subject in light of public international law. To this end, he conducts a thorough analysis of various international conventions, such as the Charter of the United Nations (1945), the European Convention on Human Rights (1950), and the International Covenants of 1966. Then he turns to the 1996 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and shows how Switzerland’s adhesion to that Convention motivated its adoption of the new Article 261 bis of the Penal Code. The second part of the book focuses on a comparison between the solution adopted by the Swiss Penal Code and the options retained by two of its neighbours, France and Germany. In the third and final part of the book, strictly confined to Swiss law, the author presents penal law as a possible remedy for racism and xenophobia. In so doing, he analyses the different conditions, hypothesis and justification for ‘punishment as a cure’ before going on to address the problem of the boundaries of such punishment by civil liberties or constitutional rights such as freedom of speech. This is probably the most intellectually stimulating – and controversial – part of the book. It raises an essential question: What constitutes an adequate antidote to racial discrimination? Should it be solely punishment or a carefully weighted combination of punishment and education? The author favours the former option, without however addressing the latter. Be that as it may, Mr. Guyaz’s thesis is well structured and well documented. The range of his analysis, which touches Swiss law as well as international and European law, makes it a valuable work not only for Swiss lawyers but also for foreign lawyers willing to learn about – and meditate on – racial discrimination. Frank Attar Laurence Burger Paris, France
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