BRĂNIȘTEANU v. ROMANIA and 1 other application (European Court of Human Rights)

Last Updated on April 24, 2019 by LawEuro

Communicated on 15 January 2019

FOURTH SECTION

Applications nos.10600/18 and 17504/18
GheorghițaBRĂNIȘTEANU against Romania
and Ioan-Dumitru MIRONESCU against Romania
lodged on 24 April 2018 and 23 March 2018 respectively

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applications concern a restriction placed on the applicants’ right to vote while in detention, by Decision no. 72/2016 issued by the Central Electoral Office which provided that detainees could vote if they served their sentence in a prison which was situated in the same constituency as their habitual residence. The applicants were unable to vote in the parliamentary elections of 2016, because at that date they were being held in prisons which were outside their constituencies. Their right to vote had not been restricted by the criminal sentences imposed on them. The complaints lodged by the applicants about the said restriction were dismissed as unfounded by the Craiova District Court in the final decision no. 352 of 6 February 2018 (application no. 10600/18) and by the Iaşi District Court in the final decision no. 1192 of 23 November 2017 (application no. 17504/18), respectively.

The applicants relied on Articles 3, 10 and 14 of the Convention and on Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention.

QUESTION tO THE PARTIES

Has there been a breach of the applicants’ right under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to vote in free elections which have ensured the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature?

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