GROSARU v. ROMANIA JUDGMENT
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reservations as to the effectiveness of this type of remedy, however, as there
could be doubts as to the impartiality of such bodies (see paragraph 22
above).
29. The French example may be held up in this regard: when the
validation commission (which at the time was the only body authorised to
hear appeals) excluded twenty-five Poujadist MPs from parliament in 1956,
the Constitutional Council created by the 1958 Constitution was tasked with
avoiding such pitfalls and the practice of validation purely and simply
disappeared from the French parliamentary landscape. It may also be useful
to point out that in 2005, Switzerland created the possibility of an appeal to
the Federal Court (while previously, the verification of powers by the
National Council served as the only appeal process).
30. Nevertheless, that practice remains the norm in certain States.
Furthermore, various countries, including Switzerland, continue to use a
dual system. Judicial review does not de facto prevent validation by
parliament, in so far as their objectives remain separate. The purpose of the
first is to settle potential disputes through the courts while the purpose of the
second is to validate mandates by means of political supervision. This type
of validation acknowledges the specific nature and independence of the
legislature in relation both to the executive and the judiciary.
3. Appeals to the courts
31. One type of appeal is that lodged with an “ordinary” court. The
competent authorities may be administrative courts and courts of appeal, as
in the following countries: Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Georgia (Tbilisi Court and Court of Appeal), Hungary, Latvia (Department
of Administrative Affairs of the Senate of the Supreme Court), Spain
(Administrative Appeals Division of the Supreme Court) and the United
Kingdom (Election Court of the High Court and appeal to the Court of
Appeal).
32. Many countries confer jurisdiction for post-electoral disputes on the
Constitutional Court. However, that court may not necessarily have the
same powers of review from one system to another. It may merely review
constitutionality (Georgia) or it may verify and approve the results
submitted by the electoral commission (Azerbaijan).
33. Certain countries have adopted this type of remedy either at first or
last instance: Andorra (second instance), Armenia (first instance), Croatia
(first instance), Estonia (first instance, before the Supreme Court as the
Constitutional Court), France (first instance), Georgia (only where issues of
constitutionality arise), Malta (first instance), Spain (second instance and
protection of fundamental rights) and Switzerland (second instance before
the Federal Court).
34. Lastly, some systems include courts which deal only with electoral
disputes. They are composed of judges who are generally from other