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The use of Nazi symbols or language has long been a crime in Germany, punishable by steep fines and up to three years in prison. But in a landmark Aug. 13 decision, Germany's Federal Court of Justice (comparable to the U.S Supreme Court) ruled that if Nazi slogans are presented in a language other than German, they are not illegal.

The ruling overturned a decision by a lower court that convicted and fined a German neo-Nazi the equivalent of $6,000 for distributing clothing and merchandise bearing the slogan "Blood & Honour" in English.

Blood & Honour is an international white-power "hate rock" music production and distribution network founded in 1987. It has direct ties to far-right political parties throughout the continent. It promotes concerts, publishes magazines and distributes music and propaganda films.

Blood & Honour was banned in Germany in 2000, after government raids on the homes of 30 members, but it maintains a strong underground presence in the country.

Although the name Blood & Honour is a direct translation of the Hitler Youth motto "Blut und Ehre," the court ruled that translating the words into English amounted to a "fundamental change" in the slogan that rendered its use no longer punishable under German law. The judges concluded that neo-Nazi slogans are defined under German law not only by their actual meaning, but also by their presentation in the German language.

Senior Judge J枚rg-Peter Becker acknowledged that the court "is aware that its 鈥╠ecision gives neo-Nazis a degree of leeway to translate their chants and 鈥╯logans." But he added that merely criminalizing words, gestures and slogans does not prevent offensive ideology from entering public discourse.

With the ruling, the court overturned the verdict against the neo-Nazi, who was not named, but emphasized that he could still be prosecuted under other laws pertaining to right-wing extremism.