Bernadskyy B. Forming the Ukrainian model of the prohibition of political parties in light of international standards and practices

The author of the dissertation thoroughly examined the stages of constitutionalizing political parties and, concluding that this process has almost ended, presented a new approach to doctrinal models of political party responsibility; to wit, four models classified as the following: Weimar, institutional, criminal, and European Court of Human Rights. Specific attention was given to the normative and doctrinal understanding of the concept of militant democracy, which is central to defining the limits of democratic tolerance to anti-democratic or non-systematic parties. A pioneering typology of political parties, whose activities are to be prohibited in a democratic society, is meticulously depicted. The paper reviewed all cases on prohibition of political parties adjudicated by the European Court of Human Rights and other regional human rights judicial institutions; subsequently, a comprehensive set of international and regional standards guaranteeing freedom of association was coherently systemized. The experience of eleven foreign countries where political parties were banned was also overviewed. As a result, the substantial understanding of the freedom of association of the ECHR was revealed in the context of the need for a certain compromise between the requirements of protecting a democratic society and of individual rights.