STRØBYE AND ROSENLIND v. DENMARK JUDGMENT
on Legal Competence, such a restriction on the right to manage one’s property is
always linked to a declaration of legal incompetence.”
34. It thus appeared from the preparatory notes that no amendment was
contemplated to the condition that a person declared legally incompetent
would also become disenfranchised, since a restriction on the right to
manage one’s own property was an automatic consequence of a declaration
of legal incompetence under the former Act on Legal Competence.
35. The procedure for enacting amendments to the Constitution is set out
in section 88 of the Constitution, which reads as follows:
“If Parliament passes a bill on a new constitutional provision and the Government
wishes to proceed with the matter, a general election must be called. If the bill is
passed without amendment by the Parliament that assembles after the general election,
a referendum must be held on whether to approve or reject the bill within six months
of its final passage. Detailed rules on the referendum process must be laid down by
statute. If a majority of the persons casting a vote in the referendum and at least 40%
of the electorate have voted in favour of the bill, as passed by Parliament, and if the
bill receives royal assent, it shall form an integral part of the Constitution.”
The process of preparing and enacting an amendment to the Constitution
is a time-consuming one. Moreover, history has shown that it is difficult to
reach the required voter turnout in a referendum on an amendment to the
Constitution.
B. The Parliamentary Elections Act
36. Since the enactment of the 1849 Constitution, the conditions for
suffrage laid down by the Constitution have been implemented by the
enactment of an elections statute. Section 1 of the Parliamentary Elections
Act reads as follows:
Section 1
“Any person who is a Danish national, has attained the age of eighteen and has a
permanent home in the realm shall have the right to vote in general elections, unless
he or she is legally incompetent.”
37. The following overview can be made of the development of the
provision.
38. In 1849, section 5 set out:
“Therefore, no person subjected to guardianship or whose property is subject to
insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings shall have the right to vote.”
39. In 1915, section 2 set out:
‘No person shall have the right to vote if he or she:
...
(c) is barred from managing his or her property owing to bankruptcy or a declaration
of legal incompetence.’
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