It’s crime to say man has no balls: Italian apex court
August 2nd, 2012 - 5:00 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Aug 2 (IANS) Italy’s supreme court has ruled that it is a criminal offence to tell a man he has “no balls” because it hurts male pride.
In a case between two cousins, brought to the court by a lawyer named Vittorio against his cousin Alberto, the apex court said the insult that a man has “no balls” is a crime punishable with a fine, the Daily Mail reported.
The phrase was uttered during a heated courtroom exchange in the southern Italian city of Potenza.
“Apart from the vulgarity of the term used, the expression definitely also has an injurious quality,” said Judge Maurizio Fumo.
“It refers not only to the target’s lack of virility, but also to his weakness of character, lack of determination, competence and coherence - virtues that, rightly or wrongly, are still identified as pertaining to the male gender,” he said.
The court also said that uttering the insult at the workplace with third parties present could also damage one’s reputation.
- Italy impounds fake US bonds worth $6 tn - Feb 17, 2012
- Book Rani, filmmaker for vulgar language, demand journalists - Jan 18, 2011
- Pakistan attorney general turns abusive in Supreme Court - Jun 15, 2012
- 'Sense of coherence' affects workers' responses to merger - Feb 08, 2011
- Packaging chemical could cheat men of sex appeal - Jun 29, 2011
- Congress leader's poem on sex worker irks women activists - Apr 16, 2011
- Pawar attacker sent to 14-day judicial custody - Nov 25, 2011
- Impostor called Chelsea Handler 'a leathery idiot', not me: Courtney Love - Mar 21, 2011
- Sex Is Important Even For Old Men Aged 70 to 95 - Dec 08, 2010
- Man detained for trying to photograph Raja in court - May 24, 2011
Tags: apex, apex court, aug 2, coherence, court london, courtroom, cousins, criminal offence, daily mail, insult, italian city, male gender, male pride, maurizio, potenza, target, virility, virtues, vittorio, vulgarity