| Author (Corporate) | European Court of Justice: Press and Information Division |
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| Series Title | Press Release |
| Series Details | No.118, 2015 (06.10.15) |
| Publication Date | 06/10/2015 |
| Content Type | News |
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In a judgement announced on the 6 October 2015 the European Court of Justice stated that a Member State can maintain an indefinite ban on voting in European Parliament elections for certain nationals of that State. Such a ban must, however, be proportionate to the aim pursued. In the judgment, the Court ffound first of all that the deprivation of the right to vote to which Mr Delvigne was subject represented a limitation of the exercise of the right of EU citizens to vote in elections to the European Parliament, as guaranteed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Court noted that limitations may, however, be imposed on the exercise of fundamental rights, and provided, inter alia, that they are proportionate. In this case, the Court considered that the ban to which Mr Delvigne was subject was proportionate. Even though the case directly concerned a situation in France, many UK news sources and commentators also discussed the implications for the UK as the United Kingdom was the only western European country with a blanket ban on prisoner voting, a situation which meant a long-running legal dispute with the European Court of Human Rights. |
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| Source Link | http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2015-10/cp150118en.pdf |
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| Subject Categories | Law, Politics and International Relations |
| Countries / Regions | Europe, France, United Kingdom |
