Scientific journal on culture of diplomacy studies

Scientific journal on culture of diplomacy studies

Burning the Quran and the International Responsibility of the Swedish State: A Case Study of Rasmus Paludan Action

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 2 Faculty member of the Culture, Diplomacy and Dialogue Research Group, Tehran,
2 Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
An act or omission in the international arena, if it has a wrongful nature, is subject to the international responsibility of the state. While the concept of the international responsibility of the state has been considered more in bilateral or multilateral relations between states; nevertheless, the condition of attributing behavior to the state based on international law indicates that the behavior of the state towards citizens, if it includes a wrongful description, also creates the international responsibility of the state. In view of this, one of the studies related to the burning of the Quran in Sweden has raised the relationship between this issue and the right to freedom of expression; this article examines the question of how the burning of the Quran in Sweden has created the international responsibility of the Swedish government? In response to this hypothesis, it has been proposed that the burning of the Quran in Sweden, through the refusal of this country to prevent this action, has caused a violation of this country's obligation based on international conventions and created international responsibility for the Swedish government. The findings of the study indicate that, given that burning the Quran is considered a provocative act and is prohibited in international law, cases such as the refusal of the Swedish police to prevent the burning of the Quran, granting permission for these actions, and the failure to criminalize these cases in the Swedish criminal law system are among the cases that create the international responsibility of the Swedish government.
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