18
ŽDANOKA v. LATVIA JUDGMENT
Article 233-3
“After examining the request, the court shall give its judgment:
(1) finding that, after 13 January 1991, the person concerned did actively participate
in the CPSU (in the CPL) ...;
(2) declaring the request ill-founded and dismissing it ...”
D. Proposals to repeal the disputed restrictions
61. The Parliamentary Elections Act was enacted on 25 May 1995 by
the first parliament elected after the restoration of Latvia’s independence,
otherwise known as the “Fifth Legislature” (the first four legislatures having
operated between 1922 and 1934). The following legislature (the Sixth),
elected in October 1995, examined three different proposals seeking to
repeal section 5(6) of the above-mentioned Act. At the plenary session of
9 October 1997, the three proposals were rejected by large majorities after
lengthy debates. Likewise, on 18 December 1997, during a debate on a
proposal to restrict section 5(6), the provision’s current wording was
confirmed. Elected in October 1998, the following legislature (the Seventh)
examined a proposal to repeal section 5(6) at a plenary session on 16 May
2002. After lengthy discussions, the majority of members of parliament
refused to accept the proposal. Finally, the Eighth Legislature, elected in
October 2002, examined a similar proposal on 15 January 2004. It was also
rejected.
E. The Constitutional Court’s judgment of 30 August 2000
62. In a judgment of 30 August 2000 in case no. 2000-03-01, the
Constitutional Court (Satversmes tiesa) found that the restrictions imposed
by section 5(6) of the Parliamentary Elections Act and section 9(5) of the
Municipal Elections Act were compatible with the Latvian Constitution and
with Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 3 of
Protocol No. 1.
In that judgment, adopted by four votes to three, the Constitutional Court
first reiterated the general principles laid down in the settled case-law of the
Convention institutions in applying Article 14 of the Convention and
Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. It further held:
“4. The argument that the provisions complained of, forbidding certain Latvian
citizens from standing as candidates or being elected to Parliament and municipal
councils, discriminate against them on the basis of their political allegiance is without
foundation ... The impugned provisions do not provide for a difference in treatment on
the basis of an individual’s political convictions (opinions) but for a restriction on