Dicle for the Democratic Party (DEP) v. Turkey, No. 25141/94, ECtHR (Fourth Section), 10 December 2002

Banning of a political party on the ground that its activities are liable to undermine the territorial integrity of the State and the unity of the nation. Establishment of a Kurdish State and recognition of a Kurdish identity.

Art. 11 ECHR

1. If democracy is to work properly, it is essential that political bodies be allowed to make public proposals, even when they are critical of governmental policy or clash with the prevailing public opinion.

2. A political speech having a very limited potential impact on a country’s national security, public order or territorial integrity cannot by itself justify the dissolution of an entire political party, especially where its author has already been prosecuted.

(In the present case, the Turkish Constitutional Court banned a political party on the ground that its declarations and speeches had made reference to the existence of a separate Kurdish people in Turkey fighting for their independence and had advocated the acceptance of a Kurdish identity with all its consequences, namely the creation of an independent State and the destruction of the existing State).

The ECtHR held unanimously that the dissolution of the applicant party on the ground of a single speech by a former leader amounted to a violation of article 11 of the Convention.