GROSARU v. ROMANIA JUDGMENT 3 14. On 4 December 2000 the applicant submitted his case to the Constitutional Court. By a letter of 11 December 2000, in which reference was made to Article 21 of the Romanian Constitution guaranteeing free access to the courts, the court informed the applicant that it did not have jurisdiction in matters concerning electoral disputes. 15. On 4 December 2000 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice. By a decision of 13 December 2000, that court declared the appeal inadmissible on the ground that the decisions of the Central Electoral Office were final. 16. On 8 December 2000 the applicant repeated his challenge in a submission to the Chamber of Deputies Validation Commission, but was unsuccessful. The transcript of the Chamber of Deputies’ session of 15 December 2000, published on the website of that institution, shows that the applicant’s challenge was rejected on the same ground as that put forward by the Central Electoral Office. 17. In the parliamentary elections of 2004 and 2008 the applicant was elected MP for the Italian minority in Romania. II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE A. Domestic law 1. The Romanian Constitution (in force at the material time) Election of the Chambers Article 59 “(1) The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate are elected by universal, equal, direct, secret and free suffrage, in accordance with electoral law. (2) Organisations of citizens belonging to national minorities which fail to obtain the number of votes necessary for representation in Parliament each have the right to one Chamber of Deputies seat, in accordance with the provisions of electoral legislation. Citizens of a national minority can be represented by one organisation only. ...” 2. Law no. 68/1992 of 15 July 1992 on elections to the Chamber of Deputies and to the Senate 18. The relevant Articles of this Law, in force at the material time, provide: