The word contempt is a term that in some laws is considered a crime that is incurred when defaming, discrediting or threatening an authority, in the performance of their functions in fact or in word. The penalty for having committed contempt is intended to guarantee the respect of citizens for the coercive power of the state. The action properly sanctioned is based on disobedience or resistance. Disobedience occurs the moment a person does not obey an order. Therefore, the existence of a prior order is essential. There is resistance when one person tries to prevent another from executing a specific action, that is, the action ordered by a public agent in the performance of their duties.
Therefore, for the criminal offense to be a fact, there must first be an order, that said order is given by a public official and that he is in the performance of his work. It should be noted that the legislation of each country will sanction according to what is established in its legal system.
However, classifying contempt as a crime is typical of dictatorships, since this term is adopted in ancient Roman law, as a protection mechanism for the emperor. In democratic systems, the word contempt is prone not to be considered as a fault independent of crimes against the good repute and dignity of any citizen, regardless of whether he is a public official or not.
Organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights state in Article 13 that freedom of expression is opposed to the presence of contempt as a fault or infraction. Since by considering contempt as a crime, it would be protecting a government system from possible reproaches or criticism from its citizens, and especially from the media.
Some Latin American countries such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru have eliminated contempt from their criminal regulations. However, Uruguay still considers it a crime in its penal code, although they are in the process of having it repealed. In the United Kingdom and the United States, if they consider contempt as a crime but if it is carried out against the Judiciary.
