367 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "So, on the one hand, some kind of state regulation of the inner workings of political parties may be acceptable; on the other hand, state interference may suffice with formulating some “requirements for parties to be transparent in their decision-making and to seek input from their membership when determining party constitutions and candidates”."
- "Only convincing and compelling reasons can justify limitations on the freedom of association of political parties, and such limitations must be construed strictly. Any such limitations must be prescribed by law, pursue a legitimate aim recognized by international standards, necessary in a democratic society, and proportionate in measure and duration."
- "Parties and their supporters shall be able to assemble freely and communicate the party views, and their opinions shall not be summarily blocked from receiving balanced media coverage, especially by state-run media."
- "Particularly in the case of political parties, given their fundamental role in the democratic process, prohibitive measures shall be narrowly applied and shall never completely extinguish the right or encroach on its essence. For instance, prohibiting the establishment of a political party or dissolving a political party are sanctions of last resort and shall only be imposed in exceptional cases under strict conditions."
- "However, the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR take the view that, given the importance of political parties as vital instruments of the freedom of association and fundamental for the democratic process and the important consequences that the restrictions imposed on political parties may have, any restriction on political party freedoms must be capable of being submitted to review by an independent and impartial court, at least in the final instance. Moreover, the prohibition/dissolution of a political party must always be decided by an independent court."
- "Grounds for denying party registration must be clearly stated in law and based on objective criteria. Where parties can be denied registration for administrative reasons, such as the failure to meet a deadline, such administrative requirements must be reasonable and well known to parties. Moreover, in case of technical omissions or minor infringements of registration requirements, the political party should be given reasonable time in which to rectify the failure."
- "Deadlines for deciding registration applications should be reasonably short, to ensure the effective realization of the right of individuals to associate. "
- "The payment of reasonable registration fees for the establishment of a political party is an acceptable requirement."
- "Although requirements based on minimum support established through the collection of signatures are legitimate, the state must ensure that they are reasonable and democratically justifiable and not so burdensome as to restrict the political activities of small parties or to discriminate against parties representing minorities."
- "Once party registration is approved, requirements for retaining it should be minimal. However, the requirements for continuing to receive certain benefits from the state, such as public financing or ballot access in elections, may be higher than requirements for maintaining registration as a political party."
- "Provisions regarding the limitation of political parties purely on the grounds that they represent a limited geographic area should generally be removed from relevant legislation."
- "Dissolution of political parties which is merely based on the incidental activities of party members as individuals is incompatible with the protection awarded to parties as associations. This incompatibility extends to individual actions of party leadership, except where these persons can be proven to act as representatives of the party as a whole."
- "When parties are required to show minimum levels of support, they should be given adequate time to collect and submit signatures. It is good practice that the number of required signatures does not exceed one per cent of the total number of registered voters in a constituency."
- "The system for the verification of signatures should be clearly defined in law and not overly technical, so as to avoid the possibility of abuse. In particular, a requirement that a citizen be allowed to sign in support of only one party should be avoided, as such a regulation would affect his/her right to freedom of association and could easily disqualify parties despite their attempts in good faith to fulfil this requirement."
- "Funding political parties through private contributions is also a form of political participation. Thus, legislation should attempt to achieve a balance between encouraging moderate contributions and limiting unduly large contributions."
- "To ensure a transparent and fair financing system, and to avoid the possibility of circumventing relevant rules, both routine party funding and campaign finance must be addressed in legislation relevant to political parties and electoral campaigns in the same manner."
- "The amount of public funding awarded to parties must be carefully designed to guarantee the utility of such funding, while at the same time ensuring that private contributions are not made superfluous or their impact nullified."