"Quite simple"

“Politicians have to put up with more”

(Bild: pathdoc - stock.adobe.com)

Insulting someone is never the smart thing to do. However, very few people know that calling someone a "moron", an "idiot" or a copycat can make you liable to prosecution. The "Krone" asked lawyer Sascha Flatz in its "Recht einfach" format what politicians in Austria have to put up with and where the limits are. 

Everyone has probably slipped out a swear word or two in an argument. However, this does not mean that the requirements of Section 115 of the Austrian Criminal Code are immediately fulfilled. Lawyer Sascha Flatz explains: "Anyone who insults, mocks, physically abuses or threatens to physically abuse someone in public or in front of several people must be punished." The penalty is up to three months in prison.