12 SAVVA TERENTYEV v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT 62. ... there is also concern on the part of bodies responsible for supervising the implementation of States’ obligations in this regard that such restrictions can be unjustifiably to silence minorities and to suppress criticism, political opposition and religious beliefs. 63. Thus, for example, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, when reviewing reports of States Parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, has recommended that the definitions in legislation directed against ‘extremism’ be amended so as to ensure that they are clearly and precisely worded, covering only acts of violence, incitement to such acts, and participation in organizations that promote and incite racial discrimination, in accordance with Article 4 of that Convention. Similarly, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressed concern that such legislation could be interpreted and enforced in an excessively broad manner, thereby targeting or disadvantaging human rights defenders promoting the elimination of racial discrimination or not protecting protect individuals and associations against arbitrariness in its application. In addition, concerns about the use of hate speech restrictions to silence criticism and legitimate political criticism have also been voiced by ECRI and others such as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention on National Minorities”. C. Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe 40. On 9 March 2009 the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (“the ODIHR”) published A Practical Guide on Hate Crime Laws, in which it made the following observations on the possible scope of victim attributes in hate-crime law (pp. 45-46): “If a law includes characteristics that are not immutable or in some manner essential to a person’s sense of self and shared by persons who as a group have experienced discrimination, exclusion or oppression, it can be discredited as a hate crime law. Further, it can fail to protect those groups which are in fact victimized. People protected under the term “social group” might include members of the police or politicians, neither of whom is typically perceived as an oppressed group or as sharing fundamental bonds of identity. Indeed, if a law includes protected characteristics that are too far away from the core concept of hate crime it may no longer be seen as a hate crime law. Further, the legal concept of certainty requires that a person be able to reasonably foresee the criminal consequences of his or her actions. The concept of legal certainty is reflected in both domestic laws in the OSCE region and regional and international human rights instruments. A law that imposes increased penalties but is unclear about the circumstances in which those penalties will be applied is likely to fail this fundamental test.”