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Lese majeste is an insult or offense to a head of state, traditionally used in reference to monarchs. Many monarchies have adopted the concept, subjecting citizens to penalties if they insulted the monarch in any way. Thailand has strict lese-majeste laws, but other nations with existing monarchies still have them, although they are not always enforced. The term is also sometimes used to describe irreverence and disrespect in general.
Lese majeste, more properly lese majesté, is an insult or offense to a head of state. The term has traditionally been used particularly in reference to monarchs, although people can potentially be prosecuted for lèse-majeste if they insult a government or national leader. At one time, numerous nations had laws on the books that provided for severe punishments for people who offended the monarch, although the decline of monarchies has led to a corresponding decline in those laws.
The concept of lese-majeste as a legal term arose during the Roman Empire, when it was first codified as an action with distinct legal repercussions. Many monarchies have adopted the concept, subjecting citizens to penalties if they insulted the monarch in any way. Lese-majeste can range from being disrespectful to the monarch in his presence to making defamatory statements in public. It could be loosely defined as a lack of respect for the monarch. Monarchs are seen as figures of respect because in addition to being heads of state, they are also part of a nation’s history and heritage.
Thailand is infamous for its very strict lese-majeste laws. Thailand’s ruler is treated with intense reverence, and people can be jailed for between three and 15 years for acts that can range from not standing up for the royal anthem to drawing political cartoons of the king. Critics of Thailand’s harsh laws have argued that these laws often penalize people who engage in free speech or valid criticism of the Thai government.
Several other nations with existing monarchies still have lese-majeste laws, although these laws are not always enforced. Law enforcement officials tend to be more interested in active treason. If someone wants to draw a political cartoon of the Queen of England with offensive content, for example, they are unlikely to be punished, but if someone plots a plot against the monarch, they will face legal penalties. Referring offensive words to a head of state in a newspaper could be prosecuted as libel, but not lèse-majeste.
This term is also sometimes used to describe irreverence and disrespect in general, such as harsh comments to a supervisor or disrespect of someone who is pompous or arrogant. In this sense, “lese majeste” is a more light-hearted term that is often used to describe a situation where someone is too bossy and someone else has decided to take the situation lightly. A parent might, for example, accuse a child of lese-majeste when he flippantly responds to well-meaning advice.
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