CEDH · PRESS;CHAMBERJUDGMENTS;ENG — 3 décembre 2009

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sA678F94A { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s598389F8 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; font-size:11pt } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s2F5E426D { font-family:Arial; font-size:6pt; font-weight:bold; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .sE202B2ED { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .s1F6AC3E7 { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt; font-style:italic } .s3F59B822 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-transform:uppercase } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s99A63BFE { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:11pt } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .s4BAE41EE { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt } .sBACB3E60 { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt; text-decoration:underline; color:#800080 } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .s9FE28126 { margin-top:0pt; margin-right:42.5pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left; font-size:11pt } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .sB853CD26 { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt } 913 03.12.2009   Press release issued by the Registrar   Chamber judgment [1] Seyidzade v. Azerbaijan (application no. 37700/05)   REGISTRATION OF A CANDIDATE IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS REFUSED ARBITRARILY   Violation of Article 3 of Protocol 1 (right to free elections) of the European Convention on Human Rights   (The judgment is available only in English.)   Principal facts   The applicant, Mr Miraziz Mirasgar oglu Seyidzade is an Azerbaijani national who was born in 1949 and lives in Baku.   Mr Seyidzade held the following positions: head of the education department of the Caucasus Muslims Board ( Qafqaz Müsəlmanlar İdarəsi , the official governing body of Muslim religious organisations in Azerbaijan), member of the Qazi (Islamic Judges’) Council ( Qazılar Şurası ) of the Caucasus Muslims Board, and director of the Sumgayit branch of Baku Islamic University. He was also a founder and editor-in-chief of “ Kelam”, a journal with Islamic religious content.   On an unspecified date, he applied to the electoral commission to be registered as a candidate for the November 2005 parliamentary elections. He submitted with his application an undertaking to terminate any professional activity incompatible with the office of member of parliament and by August 2005 he had resigned from all his positions involving professional religious activity. However, the electoral commission refused to register him as a candidate for the elections finding that he continued to act as a professional clergyman. Mr Seyidzade appealed unsuccessfully before several court instances. While acknowledging that he had resigned from his positions, the courts found that this fact did not exclude his engaging in professional religious activity which, in accordance with the Constitution and the Electoral Code, was an obstacle to standing for parliamentary elections.   Complaints, procedure and composition of the Court   Relying on Article 3 of Protocol No 1 Mr Seyidzade complained of the authorities’ arbitrary refusal to register him as a candidate in the parliamentary elections.   The application was lodged with the European Court of Human Rights on 7 October 2005.   Judgment was given by a Chamber of seven judges, composed as follows:   Nina Vajić (Croatia), President , Anatoly Kovler (Russia), Khanlar Hajiyev (Azerbaijan), Dean Spielmann (Luxembourg), Sverre Erik Jebens (Norway), Giorgio Malinverni (Switzerland), George Nicolaou (Cyprus), judges , and Søren Nielsen , Section Registrar .   Decision of the Court   The Court first noted that the applicant had resigned from all his positions which could have been interpreted as “professional religious activity” believing that this would have made him eligible to stand for election. However, without even specifying any reasons for their finding, the electoral authorities had considered him still a professional clergyman and consequently belonging to the category of persons affected by the domestic law restriction on people eligible to stand for election. The courts, like the electoral commission, had failed to point out on the basis of what definition and evidence had he been considered a clergyman.   The Court found that the relevant domestic law had not been clear or precise and thus had left considerable room for speculation as to the definition of the categories of persons whose rights had been restricted. Furthermore, the Azerbaijani authorities had not submitted examples of consistent interpretation given in domestic practice to the scope of the legal restriction on the right to stand for elections. In fact, the authorities had arbitrarily applied the restrictions in respect of Mr Seyidzade and had thus prevented him, without a clear or sufficient explanation, from exercising his right to free elections, in violation on Article 3 of Protocol 1.   Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) of the Convention, the Court awarded the applicant 7,500   euros (EUR) in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 1,000 less EUR 850 granted to the applicant by way of legal aid for costs and expenses.   *** This press release is a document produced by the Registry. It does not bind the Court. The judgments are available on its   website ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   Press contacts Kristina Pencheva-Malinowski (tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 35 70) or Céline Menu-Lange (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 58 77) Stefano Piedimonte (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 42 04) Tracey Turner-Tretz (tel: + 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Frédéric Dolt (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 53 39) Nina Salomon (tel: + 33 (0)3 90 21 49 79)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. [1] Under Article 43 of the Convention, within three months from the date of a Chamber judgment, any party to the case may, in exceptional cases, request that the case be referred to the 17 ‑ member Grand Chamber of the Court. In that event, a panel of five judges considers whether the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation or application of the Convention or its protocols, or a serious issue of general importance, in which case the Grand Chamber will deliver a final judgment. If no such question or issue arises, the panel will reject the request, at which point the judgment becomes final. Otherwise Chamber judgments become final on the expiry of the three-month period or earlier if the parties declare that they do not intend to make a request to refer.