''Tănase v. Moldova'' was a 2010

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

case which determined that the provisions of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

prohibited Moldova from making dual cititzenship holders ineligible to sit in the

national parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Background

In May 2008, Moldovan electoral law was amended to forbid persons with multiple citizenship from sitting in the parliament. The change did not forbid those with multiple citizenship from running for election, but if successful, they could only take their seat if they renounced their other citizenships. According to

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

, 10 percent of candidates in the 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election held dual nationality. One of those affected Alexandru Tănase, from the

Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova The Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (, PLDM) is a conservative political party in Moldova. The party is led by Tudor Deliu. Until 2016, PLDM was led by Vlad Filat, who was Prime Minister of Moldova from 2009 to 2013, in two cabinets. Immedi ...

. Having been elected in 2009, he was forced to renounce his Romanian citizenship if he wished to take his seat. He launched a complaint before the Court. Romania was admitted as a third party.

Judgments

In 2008, a Chamber of the Court decided that the provisions of Moldovan law violated Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment was appealed by Moldova. In 2010, the Grand Chamber unanimously found the ineligibility of persons with dual citizenship to violate Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. It was unanswered whether forbidding those with multiple nationalities from taking seats in Parliament pursued a legitimate aim. It found the law to be disproportionate and in violation of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1.

References

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Sources

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