In the opinion of the Venice Commission, the possibility of limiting the activity of a political party as a precautionary measure, solely on the basis that it is considered a potential successor of a party that has been declared unconstitutional, and which consequently prevents its members from standing for election, creates an excessively high risk that no effective remedy will be available if the party is ultimately not regarded as falling within that category. In such circumstances, the absence of any effective ex post remedy is practically inevitable, since once elections have taken place, their outcome cannot realistically be undone except by re-running them. Such a situation could amount to a breach of Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the ECHR, insofar as no effective remedies could be afforded to the affected parties and/or to their candidates. The fact that, pursuant to Article 21(8) of the Law on Political Parties, the activity of a party may not be limited for minor violations nor during an electoral campaign in which it participates, except in cases where the limitation of the activity results from serious violations of the law, as provided for in Articles 3 and 21(3¹), reflects a legislative recognition that such measures must be used only in cases of particular gravity. This is consistent with the proportional approach required where ex post remedies would be practically incapable of redressing the effects of an exclusion from an electoral process. The Venice Commission therefore finds that the limitation of a political party’s activity as a precautionary measure should only be foreseen either in dissolution proceedings or in proceedings seeking the limitation of a political party’s activities, as long as they are confined to narrowly defined and truly exceptional circumstances. It is for the courts to decide if those circumstances are met in each particular case. As noted above, any court decisions imposing precautionary measures must be supported by adequate, reasoned justification demonstrating that the circumstances of the case warrant such a measure.