41
“The Court's supervisory functions oblige it to pay the utmost
attention to the principles characterizing a "democratic society". …
This means, amongst other things, that every "formality",
"condition",
"restriction"
or
"penalty"
imposed
…must
be
proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.”
This approach was restated in Gillow v United Kingdom Application No
9063/80 Judgment of 24 November 1986 Series A no. 109 at paragraph
55:
“As to the principles relevant to the assessment of the "necessity"
of a given measure "in a democratic society", reference should be
made to the Court's case-law. The notion of necessity implies a
pressing social need; in particular, the measure employed must be
proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued. In addition, the scope
of the margin of appreciation enjoyed by the national authorities
will depend not only on the nature of the aim of the restriction but
also on the nature of the right involved.”
106.3
Concerning the social need, the European Court does not only
verify if the State applied the principle of margin of appreciation in good
faith, it also assesses whether the reasons given are“relevant and
sufficient”, as the Court specified in Olsson vs. Sweden Application
no.10465/83 Judgment of 24 March 1988 Series A no. 130 at paragraph
68.
106.4
Next, in accordance with the specification set out in Sporrong
and Lonnroth vs. Sweden Applications no 7151/75, 7152/75 Judgment