The Court did not consider that Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 had to be interpreted as generally imposing a positive obligation on national authorities to guarantee voters abroad the right to vote in parliamentary elections. The situation is, however, different in Greece owing to the existence of a specific constitutional provision. Without declaring that the Greek Constitution made it compulsory to introduce the right to vote from abroad, the Court held that “the absence for such a long period of regulations on the right of expatriates to vote from their place of residence, despite the rule laid down in Article 51 § 4 of the Constitution, is likely to constitute unfair treatment of Greek citizens living abroad in relation to those living in Greece”. Referring to European practice (most states allow voting from abroad) and to the fact that the right to vote was at risk, which reduced member states’ margin of appreciation, the Court held that “the absence of the legislative implementation of the rules laid down in Article 51 § 4 of the Constitution for a period lasting more than three decades, combined with the development of the law of the Contracting States in this area, is sufficient to engage the liability of the respondent State under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1”.