European experience in hearing and resolving electoral disputes in administrative justice

Abstract

The research is devoted to the study of the European experience of hearing and resolving electoral disputes in the administrative justice system. The availability of a national system of effective consideration of disputes concerning legal relations related to the election or referendum process is one of the basic guarantees of free and fair elections. Ukraine is a state that is integrating into the European legal space, thus the European system of standards is of key importance. It is pointed out that the electoral law of most European countries provides for two ways of hearing electoral disputes: administrative and judicial. The administrative method of electoral dispute resolution provides for the possibility of itsconsideration by various bodies, depending on the elections concerning which dispute arises (parliamentary, provincial, municipal). The judicial procedure for consideration of electoral disputes in foreign countries also has a number of peculiarities. The author describes the experience of such countries as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and France. The advantages and disadvantages of administrative and judicial methods of electoral dispute resolution in European countries are analyzed. It is pointed out that despite the positions according to which preference is given to election commissions consisting of highly qualified specialists, the current state of affairs in Ukraine does not allow to remove election disputes from the jurisdiction of administrative courts. This requires that election commissions be composed of independent, impartial, professional members, and the practice of conducting elections in Ukraine shows quite opposite situation. Nevertheless, in general, the procedural legislation of Ukraine regulating the procedure and terms for appealing electoral violations and consideration of cases of this category by administrative courts in most aspects complies with established European standards.