The right to form political parties is one of the fundamental freedoms of modern democracies. However, if they were created in violation of the law, then their state registration may be canceled. It is important to know only a court can annul the registration certificate of a political party or prohibit its activities. The Ministry of Justice performs a control and monitoring function in this process: it establishes the existence of appropriate grounds and initiates the issue of annulment in court.
The state registration of a political party can be canceled in the following cases:
1️⃣ If a political party, within six months from the date of registration, has not ensured the creation and registration in the manner prescribed by law of its regional organizations in most regions of Ukraine, the cities of Kiev, Sevastopol and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. It is 14 out of 27 – administrative-territorial units of the state.
2️⃣ When inaccurate information was found in the documents submitted for registration within three years from the date of registration of a political party.
3️⃣ When the political party has not nominated its candidates for the elections of the President of Ukraine and the elections of People’s Deputies of Ukraine for ten years.
Political force can also be banned at the request of the Ministry of Justice in court in case of violation of the requirements for the creation and operation of political parties established by the Constitution of Ukraine and other laws of the state:
✅ prescriptions of Article 37 of the Basic Law: «The creation and activity of political parties and public organizations, program goals or actions of which are aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, changing the constitutional system by violent methods, violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, undermining its security, illegal seizure of state power, propaganda wars, violence, incitement to interethnic, racial, religious hatred, encroachments on human rights and freedoms, public health are prohibited»;
✅ the provisions of Article 5 of the Law «On Political Parties in Ukraine». It states the creation and activities of political parties are prohibited if their program goals or actions are aimed at promoting communist and /or national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes and their symbols.
Can the activities of a political party be canceled?
«Ghost» signs of political parties (facts of lack of political activity for 10 years), our specialists establish independently. They receive relevant information from the Central Election Commission. Similarly, violations of the requirements for proper representation of political forces in most regions of Ukraine are revealed. Whereas the identification and recording of violations of the provisions of the Constitution and Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine «On Political Parties in Ukraine» in the activities of political parties is carried out by the bodies of pre-trial investigation.
The Ministry of Justice has filed 50 lawsuits to annul the certificate of political parties have not nominated their candidates in the presidential or parliamentary elections for 10 years over the past 18 months. Another 3 lawsuits were sent to court against political forces violated the requirements for the creation and registration of their regional branches. Now the court of first instance has satisfied the claims for annulment of registration certificates of 10 so-called «phantom» parties. The Ministry of Justice has already annulled the testimonies of 5 political forces based on court decisions.
