Nataliia Chudyk, Vladyslav Teremetskyi, Oleh Martseliak, Valeriy Velychko, Svitlana Martseliak, Viacheslav Shamrai, Yaroslav Zhuravel
The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights on the protection of human rights, as the establishment and protection of human rights and freedoms is the main duty of the state. To guarantee the possibility of enjoying of all human and civil rights and freedoms, the state must provide a mechanism for exercising the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted on November 4, 1950, entered into force on September 3, 1953 and ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on July 17, 1997 (entered into force for Ukraine on September 11, 1997).
The authors of the article revealed the specifics of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, which is the most important standard document of the Council of Europe for the assessment of elections, which aims to harmonize electoral standards.
The authors focused on the judicial practice of the interpretation of the provisions of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms "Right to Free Elections" by the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter - the European Court). The authors emphasize that one of the exclusively important, key elements of successful implementation of political will in regard with Ukraine's European integration is to achieve a certain level of harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with the law of the Council of Europe, first of all, it is the formation of a democratic electoral system in Ukraine.
The authors concluded that the judicial practice of the European Court on the interpretation of Art. 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms The "right to free elections" is very diverse and, to some extent, contradictory. The understanding of the right to free elections in the judicial practice of the European Court has undergone a certain evolution, due to the ambiguity and peculiarity of each situation, as well as the need to protect one of the key values of modern democracy - the human right to vote and to be elected.