Iskandar on The Constitutional Significance of State Symbols

Pranoto Iskandar, McGill University, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism; The Institute for Migrant Rights, has published The Constitutional Significance of State Symbols. Here is the abstract.

Not every constitution entrenches state symbols, but many do and their rationale can only be understood implicitly. These state symbols constitutionally significant. Some constitutions contain provisions that explicitly state any violation or even mere disrespect toward state symbols may entail legal consequences. Those that take state symbols too seriously tend to be classified as undemocratic, illiberal, repressive, or even worse, authoritarian. A cursory overview of some Western European states with liberal democratic pedigree reveals that they have harsh sentences for those who pour scorn on their state symbols. Therefore, this signifies that state symbols are an important feature in a constitutional order. After all, even the world’s most democratic states also have their own state symbols. Hence, how should one proceed in making sense of the constitutional significance of state symbols?

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.