Lib-Dems notify Constitutional Court on restriction of persons with multiple citizenship to hold office

The Moldovan Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) has notified the Constitutional Court (CC) for checking the legislative stipulations banning the persons with multiple citizenship to hold office. At the same time, deputy Vlad Filat, the PLDM’s president, has proposed to repeal these stipulations, Info-Prim Neo reports. Vlad Filat stated on Tuesday, November 25, at a news conference that these initiatives are meant to adjust the national legislation to the Moldovan Constitution, to the European Convention regarding citizenship, to article 3, protocol 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights and to enforce the Decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ascertained that the legislative modifications concerning the multiple citizenship did not comply with the European norms. According to Filat, these norms are “a policy of ethnicity-based segregation of the Moldovan citizens, a glaring encroachment of the European conventions, Moldova is part to, and it harms the citizen’s rights and liberties”. “The talks in the Parliament, and not only them, show very clearly that the governance is not going to comply with ECHR’s decision and insists on keeping this norm in the legislation,” Vlad Filat said. PLDM leader showed confidence that the CC would declare these stipulations unconstitutional. Article 4 from the Moldovan Constitution provides that when the national norm runs counter to the international one, then the international one is enforced. We are sure that the CC will make a correct decision in this case,” PLDM leader said. PLDM deputy president Vitalie Nagacevschi emphasized that “this notification will be a test for the CC, as the court in question wants to become a filter before the citizens apply to ECHR”. PLDM proposes to rush the Government to comply with the ECHR's decision. The lawyer notices that Moldova risks to be severely sanctioned for not executing the decision. “By notifying the CC and the legislative procedure initiated prove that it is possible to get tangible results even being in opposition,” the PLDM prime-deputy president, Alexandru Tanase, has stated, being the plaintiff to the ECHR in this case. Law modifications enforced on April 29, this year, ban the dual citizenship of the state office workers and public servants. According to the law, people running for parliament are to declare, when registering, their other country’s citizenship, and when validating the deputy mandate – they must confirm their renunciation to the citizenship of another state or the withdrawal of the application to obtain it.