ANATOLIY MARINOV v. BULGARIA JUDGMENT restriction on the voting rights of persons under guardianship pursued a legitimate aim – namely to ensure that only persons capable of making informed and meaningful decisions could participate in the choice of the country’s legislature. 40. In the Government’s view, the limitation imposed on persons under guardianship was proportionate to the pursued aim and within the State’s margin of appreciation, as it guaranteed that the electoral process was conducted in a manner that best reflected the voters’ will. Although the limitation in question was stipulated by a constitutional provision, its application was not automatic, as each person’s individual situation was assessed by the national courts within the course of the proceedings to place that person under guardianship. In addition, the applicant’s right to vote would be statutorily restored in case his placement under guardianship was lifted upon judicial reviews of his condition, in view of his improved mental status. 41. Lastly, the Government explained that persons under partial guardianship in the Republic of Bulgaria accounted for 0.014% of all nationals who were permanently resident on the territory of the country and who would otherwise be able to vote, suggesting that the restriction in issue was linked to a limited group of persons in a very particular situation. (c) The third-party intervener 42. Validity Foundation – Mental Disability Advocacy Center, an international human rights non-governmental organisation based in Hungary, submitted, inter alia, that the right to vote was universal and that there was a clear international consensus that all people with disabilities should be afforded the same right to political participation as everyone else. This consensus was evident not only from international instruments adopted by authoritative bodies – including the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Disability, and the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – but also from recent reform initiatives implemented in the Contracting States. The intervener concluded that stripping people with disabilities of their right to express their political views damaged the integrity of the electoral system and undermined the legitimacy of public institutions. 2. The Court’s assessment (a) General principles 43. The Court has established that Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 guarantees individual rights, including the right to vote and to stand for election (see, inter alia, Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt v. Belgium, 2 March 1987, § 51, Series A no. 113, and Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey (no. 2) [GC], no. 14305/17, § 385, 22 December 2020). 10