Paksas v. Lithuania, No. 34932/04, ECtHR (Grand Chamber), 6 January 2011

Permanent ineligibility of impeached President to stand for election to parliamentary office.

Art. 3, Prot. 1 ECHR

1. The deprivation of the right to vote as a result of a conviction does not constitute a violation of the right to vote, as guaranteed by Article 3, Prot. 1 of the ECHR, provided that this is subject to the existence of a time limit or the possibility of a review of the measures taken.

2. When the ineligibility of a convicted person carries with it a connotation of immutability and permanence, it results in a disproportion between the afflictive measure adopted and the right to vote, entailing a violation of Article 3, Prot. 1 of the ECHR.
(The applicant, a former president of Lithuania, was removed from office following an impeachment procedure. The Central Electoral Commission rejected his subsequent candidature for parliamentary elections on the ground that he was permanently ineligible).