UDC

342.76(342.815)

Authors

Bazhukov Sergey Aleksandrovich
Institute of Law, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk, Russia)

Abstract

The paper dwells on the limits to voting rights restriction through the lenses of the principle of
proportionality when restricting rights and freedoms. One should differentiate between the principles
of restriction on rights and freedoms and the limits to restriction of human rights and freedoms. Having
studied academic literature and legal practice, the author suggests a definition of the principle of
proportionality and analyzes its features. In addition, the paper demonstrates the relationship between
the principle of proportionality and philosophical and ethical positions of Ancient Greek philosophers.
The practical use of this principle is considered on the example of the decision of the European Court
of Human Rights on the case “Anchugov and Gladkov v. Russia”. Further, the paper reveals the dual
nature of understanding the principle of proportionality, which largely depends on the subjective position
of the individuals applying this principle. The author comes to the conclusion that this principle, being
based on the positivist understanding of law, serves as a natural legal barrier against arbitrary limitations
on constitutional rights and freedoms.

Keywords

restriction on voting rights, principle of proportionality, dual nature of interpretation, European Court of Human Rights

References

1. Aristotle. Sochineniya: v 4 t. T. 4. Nikomakhova etika. Kniga V. O spravedlivosti [Works: In 4 vols. Vol. 4. Nicomachean Ethics. Book V. On Justice]. Moscow, 1983. 
2. Brykin D.M. Ogranicheniya konstitutsionnykh prav i svobod grazhdan Rossiyskoy Federatsii v usloviyakh osobykh pravovykh rezhimov: dis. ... kand. yurid. nauk [Restrictions on Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of the Citizens of the Russian Federation Under Extraordinary Legal Regimes: Cand. Jurid. Sci. Diss.]. Moscow, 2010. 
3. Gadzhiev G.A. Konstitutsionnye printsipy rynochnoy ekonomiki (Razvitie osnov grazhdanskogo prava v resheniyakh Konstitutsionnogo suda Rossiyskoy Federatsii) [Constitutional Principles of the Market Economy (Development of the Fundamentals of Civil Law in the Rulings of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation)]. Moscow, 2004. 
4. Garlitskiy L. Izbiratel’nye prava v praktike Evropeyskogo suda po pravam cheloveka [Voting Rights in the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights]. Sravnitel’noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, 2005, no. 1 (50), pp. 86–94. 
5. Duksin P.A. Konstitutsionnye ogranicheniya izbiratel’nykh prav grazhdan Rossiyskoy Federatsii, nakhodyashchikhsya v mestakh lisheniya svobody po prigovoru suda: dis. … kand. yurid. nauk [Constitutional Restrictions on Voting Rights of the Citizens of the Russian Federation Imprisoned Upon Conviction: Cand. Jurid. Sci. Diss.]. Saratov, 2010. 
6. Izenzee Y. Osnovnoe pravo kak pravo samooborony i gosudarstvennaya obyazannost’ zashchity [Fundamental Right as the Right of Self-Defense and the Duty of the State to Defend]. Gosudarstvennoe pravo Germanii [The National Law of Germany]. In 2 vols. Moscow, 1994. 
7. Kondrat I.N. Ogranichenie prav i svobod lichnosti: printsipy, osnovaniya, predely [Restriction on Rights and Freedoms: The Principles, Bases and Limits]. Zakonodatel’stvo, 2012, no. 12, pp. 62–69. 
8. Konstitutsionnoe zakonodatel’stvo Rossii [Constitutional Law of Russia]. Ed. by Tikhomirov Yu.A. Moscow, 1999. 
9. Lakhuti N. Rossii pridetsya dumat’, kak vernut’ zaklyuchennykh v ryady izbirateley [Russia Will Have to Think How to Bring Prisoners Back to Electorate Ranks]. Available at: http://pravo.ru/story/view/86547/ (accessed 12 November 2013). 
10. Manukyan V.I. ESPCh: pravo, pretsedenty, kommentarii [ECtHR: Law, Precedents, Comments]. Kiev, 2006. 
11. Pereverzev A.A. Osnovaniya ogranicheniya konstitutsionnykh prav i svobod cheloveka i grazhdanina v Rossiyskoy Federatsii: dis…kand. yurid. nauk [Grounds for Restricting the Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen in the Russian Federation: Cand. Jurid. Sci. Diss.]. Rostov-on-Don, 2006. 
12. Perkov A.A. K voprosu o kategorii “ogranichenie prav i svobod cheloveka i grazhdanina” v zarubezhnykh stranakh [On the Category of “Restriction on Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen” in Foreign Countries]. Sovremennoe pravo, 2009, no. 1, pp. 93–97. 
13. Podmarev A.A. Konstitutsionnye osnovy ogranicheniya prav i svobod cheloveka i grazhdanina v Rossiyskoy Federatsii: dis. … kand. yurid. nauk [Constitutional Foundations of Restrictions on Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen in the Russian Federation: Cand. Jurid. Sci. Diss.]. Saratov, 2001. 
14. Pchelintsev S.V. Problemy ogranicheniya prav i svobod grazhdan v usloviyakh osobykh pravovykh rezhimov [Issues of Restrictions on Rights and Freedoms of Citizens Under Extraordinary Legal Regimes]. Moscow, 2006. 
15. Rassolova E.Sh. Ogranicheniya prav i svobod cheloveka i grazhdanina v Rossiyskoy Federatsii: konstitutsionnopravovoe issledovanie: dis. … kand. yurid. nauk [Restrictions on Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen in the Russian Federation: Constitutional and Legal Research: Cand. Jurid. Sci. Diss.]. Ufa, 2009. 
16. Cherepanov V.A. K voprosu ob ogranichenii izbiratel’nykh prav grazhdan [The Issue of Restricting Voting Rights of Citizens]. Konstitutsionnoe i munitsipal’noe pravo, 2011, no. 6, pp. 49–52.