Communicated on 19 September 2016

THIRD SECTION

Application no. 52293/08 POLITICAL PARTY PEOPLE FOR DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE against Russia lodged on 18 September 2008

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The applicant party, Political Party People for Democracy and Justice, is a political party created in 2007. It is represen ted before the Court by Mr V.Y. Prokhorov, a lawyer practising in Moscow.

The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicant party, may be summarised as follows.

A. The circumstances of the case

On 3 July 2007 a number of individuals decided to create the applicant party and set up an organising committee in Nizhniy Novgorod for the preparation of its inaugural assembly.

The organising committee held party assemblies in fifty-seven regions of the Russian Federation.

On 22 September 2007 the applicant party ’ s inaugural assembly took place in Golitsyno , in the Moscow Region. The assembly declared the creation of the applicant party, established its regional branches, adopted its founding charter and political manifesto, and appointed party leaders and supervisory committees.

In the following three months the applicant party held general assemblies in fifty-four regions of the Russian Federation. The total number of the applicant party members was more than 56,000.

On 29 December 2007 the applicant party submitted an application for its state registration to the Federal Registry Service of the Ministry of Justice (“the Federal Registry Service”).

On 28 January 2008 the Federal Registry Service refused to register the applicant party, on the grounds that a random check of the records submitted by the applicant party in respect of its members had revealed thirty-seven irregularities, including six underage members, three records with typographical errors in the members ’ dates of birth, twenty members whose affiliation to a regional branch did not correspond to their registered home addresses, and eight members who had died before the date of the relevant branch ’ s general assembly. The Federal Registry Service also indicated that the assembly records of the Bashkiriya branch had not contained the address of the branch ’ s office. Finally, the application submitted did not indicate the address of the applicant party ’ s headquarters.

The applicant party challenged the refusal of its registration before a court, stating that the address of its headquarters had been indicated in the application, and that any possible errors in the records of thirty-seven of its members could not invalidate the records submitted in respect of the rest, given that the statutory minimum of 50,000 party members would have been attained in any event.

On 27 March 2008 the Taganskiy District Court of Moscow rejected the applicant party ’ s claims. It upheld, in particular, the conclusion of the Federal Registry Service concerning the mistakes in the members ’ records, and decided that this had constituted sufficient formal grounds for the refusal to register the applicant party. The court noted that the applicant party was considered to have been created, and that it could apply for its state registration after the correction of the shortcomings.

On 17 June 2008 the Moscow City Court upheld the first-instance judgment of 27 March 2008.

B. Relevant domestic law

The relevant provisions of Russian legislation on the status and activities of political parties were summarised in the judgment of Republican Party of Russia v. Russia , no. 12976/07 , § 28 et seq., 12 April 2011).

In particular, the Political Parties Act (Federal Law no. 95-FZ of 11 July 2001, amended on 20 December 2004 ) required that a political party should have no fewer than 50,000 members, and should have regional branches with no fewer than 500 members in more than half of Russia ’ s regions. It was also permitted to have branches in the remaining regions, provided that each branch had no fewer than 250 members (Section 3(2)). According to the Act, membership of a political party shall be voluntary and individual. Citizens of the Russian Federation who have attained the age of eighteen may be members of a political party. Membership of a political party is decided on the basis of a written application by a Russian Federation citizen, in accordance with the procedure set out in the articles of association. A member of a political party may only be registered in one regional branch in the region of his permanent or main residence (Section 23).

COMPLAINTS

The applicant party complains under Articles 10, 11 and 18 of the Convention about the refusal of its application for state registration as a political party.

It also complains that the same refusal prevented it from taking part in elections, in violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.

QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES

Has there been an interference with the applicant party ’ s freedom of association, within the meaning of Article 11 § 1 of the Convention? If so, was that interference prescribed by law and necessary for a legitimate aim, within the meaning of Article 11 § 2 of the Convention?