Communicated on 4 June 2015
FOURTH SECTION
Application no. 63849/09
Krum Yordanov KULINSKI and Asen Todorov SABEV
against Bulgaria
lodged on 30 November 2009
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The applicants, Mr Krum Yordanov Kulinski and Mr Asen Todorov Sabev, are Bulgarian nationals who were born in 1970 and 1977 respectively. They are represented before the Court by Mr K. Kanev from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.
A. The circumstances of the case
The facts of the case, as submitted by the applicants, may be summarised as follows.
The first applicant, Mr Kulinski, was convicted of hooliganism on 16 May 2008 in a final judgment of the Sofia City Court. He was detained to serve his sentence in Sofia Prison between 6 November 2008 and 30 December 2009. Having served the entirety of his sentence, he was released on the latter date.
The second applicant, Mr Sabev, was convicted of robbery and murder, and sentenced to whole life imprisonment on 17 December 2003 in a final judgment of the Supreme Court of Cassation. He is currently serving his sentence in Sofia Prison.
While both applicants were detained in 2009 to serve their sentences, the following elections took place: election for the European Parliament on 7 June 2009; election for the Bulgarian Parliament on 5 July 2009; and, on 15 November 2009, election for municipal authorities in Sofia where both applicants have their registered domicile. No election pole was set up in the prison where the applicants were detained, as the relevant legislation excluded sentenced individuals from voting.
The second applicant further submits that he was not allowed to take part in the election for members of the Bulgarian Parliament on 12 May 2013 and on 5 October 2014, and in the election for members of the European Parliament on 25 May 2014.
B. Relevant domestic law
1. Constitution 1991
Article 42 § 1 provides that citizens of legal age (18 years), except those deprived of legal capacity and those serving prison sentences, have the right to elect State and municipal bodies and to take part in referenda.
2. Election of Members of the Bulgarian Parliament Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”, repealed in 2011)
Section 3(1) of the Act reproduced the essence of the contents of Article 42 of the Constitution as regards electing Members of Parliament.
3. Election Code 2011 (repealed in March 2014)
Article 3 §§ 1 and 2 of this Code stipulated that Bulgarian citizens who have not been deprived of their legal capacity and are not serving a prison sentence can elect members of Parliament, President and Vice-President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
4. Election Code 2014 (in force as of March 2014)
Article 243 provides that Bulgarian citizens who meet the requirements of Article 42 § 1 of the Constitution 1991 (see above) can vote in elections for members of the Bulgarian Parliament.
5. Election of Members of the European Parliament Act 2007
Section 4(1) stipulates that Bulgarian citizens who are of legal age, have continuously resided at least during the last three months in Bulgaria or another EU State, and have been neither deprived of legal capacity nor are they serving a prison sentence, can vote for Members of the European Parliament.
COMPLAINTS
The applicants complain under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the Convention that they have been deprived of the possibility to take part in elections as a result of their serving prison sentences.
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
1. Has there been a breach of both applicants’ right under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to vote in free elections which ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of legislature (see Hirst v. the United Kingdom (no. 2) [GC], no. 74025/01, ECHR 2005‑IX; Greens and M.T. v. the United Kingdom, nos. 60041/08 and 60054/08, ECHR 2010 (extracts); Anchugov and Gladkov v. Russia, nos. 11157/04 and 15162/05, 4 July 2013), as regards the election for the European Parliament held on 7 June 2009 and the election for the Bulgarian Parliament held on 5 July 2009?
2. Has there been a breach of the second applicant’s right under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to vote in free election in respect of the election for Bulgarian Parliament on 12 May 2013 and on 5 October 2014, and the election for members of the European Parliament on 25 May 2014?
3. Did the applicants have at their disposal an effective remedy for his complaint under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?
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