Home > 6 Political parties > ARMENIA - Joint Opinion on the Draft Constituional Law on Political Parties
 
 
 
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Paragraph 33
 

As stated in the Venice Commission Report on the Method of Nomination of Candidates within Political Parties, "[t]he requirement of compliance to democracy is twofold. Not only political parties' speech and action ad extra must formally endorse the democratic principles and rule of law contained in constitutional and legal provisions of the country but their internal organisation and functioning must also substantially abide by the principles of democracy and legality. The basic tenets of democracy are not satisfied with mere formal adherence or lip service paid by the statutes of the party but require substantial application of them ad intra." In addition, the Guidelines provide that the regulation of internal party functions, where applied, must be narrowly constructed so as to not unduly interfere with the right of parties as free associations to manage their own internal affairs. Most of the Member States of the Council of Europe and participating States of the OSCE leave it to political parties to interpret the constitutional mandate of the need to conform to democratic principles.