3619 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Refrain from, and cease, measures such as cutting off access to the Internet and telecommunications services. Access to Internet and mobile telephony services should be maintained at all times, including during times of civil unrest. Access to and use of digital technologies during elections for assembly and association purposes should be specially respected, protected and promoted."
- "Companies should take effective measures to ensure transparency of their policies and practices, including the application of their terms of service and of computation-based review processes, and respect due process guarantees. To this end, companies should publish regular information on their official websites regarding the legal basis of requests made by governments and other third parties and regarding the number or percentage of requests complied with, and about content or accounts restricted or removed under the company’s own policies and community guidelines."
- "The Special Rapporteur calls upon States in times of elections: (…) (b) To ensure that the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are enjoyed by everyone, any registered or unregistered entities, including women, those victims of discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, youth, persons belonging to minorities, indigenous peoples, non-nationals, including stateless persons, refugees or migrants, and members of religious groups, as well as activists advocating economic, social, and cultural rights."
- "The Special Rapporteur calls upon States in times of elections: (…) (c) To ensure that no one is criminalized for exercising the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, nor is subject to threats or use of violence, harassment, persecution, intimidation or reprisals."
- "The Special Rapporteur calls upon States in times of elections: (…) (e) To ensure that an enabling framework is provided for political parties to be formed — regardless of their political ideology — and to enjoy the level playing field, in particular in relation to their ability to access funding, and to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, including through peaceful demonstrations and access to the media."
- "The Special Rapporteur calls upon States in times of elections: (…) (f) To increase the threshold for imposing legitimate restrictions on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, that is, to ensure that the strict test of necessity and proportionality in a democratic society, coupled with the principle of non-discrimination, is made particularly difficult to meet."
- "Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of equality. "
- "Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of impartiality. "
- "Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of proportionality."
- "Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of legal certainty."
- "Public authorities shall act and perform their duties within a reasonable time."
- "Unless action needs to be taken urgently, public authorities shall provide private persons with the opportunity through appropriate means to participate in the preparation and implementation of administrative decisions which affect their rights or interests."
- "Principle of respect for privacy 1. Public authorities shall have respect for privacy, particularly when processing personal data. 2. When public authorities are authorised to process personal data or files, particularly by electronic means, they shall take all necessary measures to guarantee privacy. 3. The rules relating to personal data protection, notably as regards the right to have access to personal data and secure the rectification or removal of any data that is inaccurate or shall not have been recorded, shall apply to personal data processed by public authorities."
- "Principle of transparency 1. Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of transparency. 2. They shall ensure that private persons are informed, by appropriate means, of their actions and decisions which may include the publication of official documents. 3. They shall respect the rights of access to official documents according to the rules relating to personal data protection."
- "Administrative decisions shall be published in order to allow those concerned by these decisions to have an exact and comprehensive knowledge of them. Publication may be through personal notification or it may be general in nature."
- "Private persons shall be entitled to seek, directly or by way of exception, a judicial review of an administrative decision which directly affects their rights and interests."
- "As an important public source of unbiased information and diverse political opinions, public service media must remain independent from political or economic interference and achieve high editorial standards of impartiality, objectivity and fairness."
- "Public service media should be subject to constant public scrutiny and be accountable and transparent when performing their functions as they have the obligation to serve the public in all its diversity, including minority communities that would not be served in a purely commercial market. Public service media must also take into account the gender equality perspective in terms of both content and staff."
- "The commitment of OSCE participating States to ensuring the availability of an effective remedy is of special relevance to EDR [electoral dispute resolution] as it entitles everyone to “have an effective means of redress against administrative decisions so as to guarantee respect for fundamental rights and ensure legal integrity”."
- "In general, to be effective, remedies should be capable of discontinuing an ongoing violation, making reparations to individuals whose rights have been violated, bringing to justice perpetrators of the violation and preventing similar infringements in the future."
- "At a minimum, natural and legal persons whose rights are affected by administrative decisions, actions or inactions should be entitled to seek court review of these decisions. Given the public nature of the election process, consideration should also be given to allowing complaints in the public interest by essentially permitting stakeholders to challenge any unlawful action or omission in the election process."
- "In order for the remedy of a violation to be effective, it must be provided in a timely and appropriate manner. This is particularly important in the electoral context due to the time-sensitive nature of the fast-paced process."
- "Electoral disputes should be subject to prompt review. While there is no set standard for time limits, good electoral practice recommends three to five days, although longer deadlines may be allowed for the highest courts. Likewise, in challenges against election results, it is advisable that the final resolution of all complaints and appeals take place within two months, maximum."
- "The complainant and individuals whose rights and interests will be directly affected by an election dispute must be given an opportunity to be heard."
- "The law should allow consideration of any evidence that is sufficiently credible and enables the interests of voters and justice to be served. Overly formalistic or strict requirements concerning evidence should be avoided."
- "To ensure proper administration of the EDR process, the election administration at both the central and local levels should be free from any political interference and guided by the fair implementation of laws. Irrespective of the composition of the election administration body, its independence should be expressed in clear and transparent proceedings."
- "Decisions taken by EDR bodies should always be impartial. Officials dealing with EDR should act objectively and carry out their duties in an impartial manner, irrespective of their personal beliefs and interests."
- "Publication of reasoned decisions also allows the public to see how the body came to its conclusion and should alleviate any concerns of biased or arbitrary decision-making."
- "Publicly available registers of complaints could be considered to improve transparency."
- "Where hearings are held, they should be open to the public, media and observers, and any exceptions should be carefully assessed."
- "Election dispute resolution must be accessible to all."
- "While fees are a means of preventing frivolous complaints, they may also create a barrier to the dispute process, especially for women and other under-represented groups."
- "Good electoral practice advises against conflicts of jurisdiction of election administration bodies and courts."
- "The election administration should be legally empowered to take measures that stop any ongoing infringement, restore violated rights, sanction those who violate legislation and prevent similar infringements in the future. Also, the election administration should be required by law to refer any possible criminal matters that come to its attention to the relevant law enforcement body and to forward complaints not under its jurisdiction to the relevant body."
- "Decisions on any complaint or appeal should be in writing, clear and fully reasoned, stating the legal and factual grounds, including the evidence on which they are based."
- "At the same time, cancellation (“de-registration”) of candidacy is an extraordinary measure that effectively deprives eligible candidates of the right to stand in election. As such, it may only be applied for the most serious violations of the law following a fair EDR process."
- "Good electoral practice suggests that the right to bring forward such challenges [appeals of election results] should be granted to all candidates and voters in the respective constituency, although a reasonable quorum may be imposed for appeals against election results filed by voters."
- "Standard complaint forms, either physical or online, also offer complainants the guidance on the elements required for filing. Developing filing standards that are clear and accessible to all election stakeholders gative bodies in processing complaints impartially and effectively. "
- "Due to the unique nature of election complaints, investigators must make their decisions in a timely fashion and in accordance with the rules, policies, and procedures that govern the electoral process."
- "It should be emphasized that, as discussed above, legitimate complaints that are incomplete or do not meet other requirements should not necessarily be dismissed on procedural grounds. Issues of due process should be balanced in the decision to dismiss a case."
- "The principle of prompt investigation is important because election processes and results are time-bound, evidence may be time-sensitive or subject to destruction following an election, and impunity for electoral offenses may linger from one electoral cycle to the next if not dealt with in a timely manner."
- "The principle of thorough investigation is important for ensuring that any action taken in response to a dispute or allegation is based on sound evidence."
- "The principle of effective investigation is directly linked to the fact that individuals must have accessible and effective remedies in place to protect their political rights."
- "The principle of investigations being undertaken by independent and impartial bodies is fundamental to the credibility and legitimacy of the investigation process and outcome."
- "Systems that provide concurrent jurisdiction or that permit complainants to choose among investigative bodies to which they can file complaints run the risk of duplicating investigations and stoking institutional rivalry and forum shopping."
- "Without structural and procedural safeguards to ensure independence and impartiality, public perception that election investigations favor a particular side in a dispute could endanger the democratic legitimacy and the credibility of the entire electoral process."
- "The recruitment process for investigators should also be independent from political considerations and subject to external oversight, to the extent that this serves to assist in the hiring of competent, independent staff and to protect against irregularities."
- "For this purpose, both the Constitution and current legal norms should provide for the functional, administrative, and financial autonomy of the institution responsible for electoral justice."
- "Constitutional, legal and regulatory provisions that oversee controversy or appeals in electoral matters should be drafted in clear and straightforward language to ensure that it is easily understood by stakeholders, observers, and especially by dispute resolution bodies."
- "In countries where the service has a cost to those who decide to file a lawsuit, care should be taken to ensure that this can be done for a reasonable and accessible sum and that it does not constitute an impediment."