The Committee for the organisation and registration of the Romanian Communist Party v. Romania, No. 20401/15, ECtHR (Fourth Section), 21 December 2021

Refusal to register a political party whose programme and constitution did not dissociate themselves from the former Romanian Communist Party.

Art. 11 ECHR

1. The refusal to register a Communist political party is a necessary measure in a democratic society when its constitutions and programmes contain vague and generic terms, ignore the socio-political evolution of the State after 1989, allow totalitarian and extremist actions which may undermine national security, and pose a potential danger to democratic values.

2. To prevent a political formation, such as the Communist one, which has seriously abused its own position for a long time, by establishing a totalitarian regime, from abusing its rights in the future, thus avoiding attacks on State security or on the foundations of a democratic society, constitutes a measure which meets a pressing social need and is not disproportionate to the aims of protecting national security and the rights and freedoms of others.
(In the present case, the Court unanimously found inadmissible the application lodged by the Committee for the organisation and registration of the Romanian Communist Party for both formal reasons and reasons relating to the content of its constitution and political programme).