Mugemangango v. Belgium: No Exceptions for “Old Democracies”

Abstract

In Mugemangango v. Belgium, the European Court of Human Rights clarified its case law regarding the right to vote and stand for election. By holding that Belgium’s longstanding tradition of allowing parliamentary review of election disputes violates guarantees of fairness and impartiality, the Court made clear that it would not interpret Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 as providing an exception for so-called “old democracies.” In doing so, the Court sent a clear message to other member states with similar systems of parliamentary review that their procedures may not be in compliance with the Convention.