European Court of Human Rights - Request for opinion
13/12/2005
In the framework of request n° 71251/01 Parti nationaliste Basque – Organisation régionale d’Iparralde v. France, the European Court of Human Rights invited the Venice Commission to provide an opinion on the following questions:
Is the financing of political parties by foreign political parties commonly prohibited or limited by the member states of the Council of Europe? If this is the case, which of those countries adopted such a measure?
To what extent may the prohibition of a foreign political party financing a political party be considered as “necessary in a democratic society” under Article 11 of the Convention? Is it necessary, in this case, to adopt a specific approach concerning the financing of a political party established in a member country of the European Union by a party established in another member state of the European Union?