X., Y. and Z. v. Federal Republic of Germany, dec., No. 6850/74, ECommHR (Plenary), 18 May 1976

Right to take part in elections as a political party. Election campaign subsidy.

Art. 9 ECHR
Art. 11 ECHR
Art. 3 Prot. 1 ECHR

1. Articles 9 and 11 of the Convention neither prohibit the subsidising of political parties nor confer the right to a specific status or to stand in elections as a political party.

2. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 9 ECHR is not infringed upon by the election campaign subsidy. This provision does not protect the taxpayer from the use of public funds for the subvention of parties that he does not support.
(In the present case, the Commission declared inadmissible the application lodged by an association which had not been acknowledged as a political party since it did not satisfy the conditions set up for political parties taking part in the legislative elections in Lower Saxony).