TY - JOUR N2 - This article provides an overview of “memory laws” in Europe, reflecting upon what may be called the “asymmetry” of such laws. It then looks at the special case of Poland and its troubled experience with memory laws; it considers the question of whether, in the eyes of the law – genocide, and in particular the Holocaust – is so “special” that its public denials warrant legal intervention. It also looks at the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and its (not necessarily coherent) “doctrine” on memory laws and their consistency, or otherwise, with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (and in particular with freedom of expression as laid down in Art. 10). The article concludes by asserting that even if we take the law as an indicator of European public memory, there is no consensus on the past, except perhaps for the special case of the Holocaust. The main challenge lies in determining whether memory laws, defined by some as social engineering and the imposition of “imperative” versions of memory, are consistent with the principles inherent in open, democratic and free societies in Europe. This challenge remains unmet. L1 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/106615/PDF-MASTER/8.%20Aleksandra%20Gliszczyn%E2%95%A0%C3%BCska-Grabias_%20Memory%20Laws%20or%20Memory%20Loss%20161-186.pdf L2 - http://journals.pan.pl/Content/106615 PY - 2014 IS - No XXXIV DO - 10.7420/pyil2014h KW - ECHR KW - ECtHR KW - European Convention on Human Rights KW - European Court of Human Rights KW - genocide KW - Holocaust KW - memory law KW - Poland A1 - Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Aleksandra PB - Institute of Law Studies PAS PB - Committee on Legal Sciences PAS T1 - Memory Laws or Memory Loss? Europe in Search of Its Historical Identity through the National and International Law UR - http://journals.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/106615 T2 - Polish Yearbook of International Law ER -