Moldovan Constitutional Court finds ban on Soviet symbols unconstitutional
CHISINAU. June 4 (Interfax) - The Moldovan Constitutional Court has found unconstitutional the ban on the hammer and the sickle as Soviet symbols.
"The Moldovan parliament surpassed its powers and violated the Constitution by banning the symbols belonging to a legally registered political party," the court said in a resolution it handed down on Tuesday evening following ten hours of deliberations.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the law passed by the Moldovan parliament on banning the hammer and the sickle and other Soviet symbols for political purposes "violates human rights and citizens' right to unite and form political parties."
Interfax reported earlier that the Moldovan parliament had passed legislation banning Soviet symbols on July 12, 2012.
The Party of Communists went to the Constitutional Court to appeal the law, arguing that the parliament exceeded its powers. The Constitutional Court did not consider the appeal for half a year and addressed the Council of Europe's Venice Commission for recommendations.
The Venice Commission ruled in March that the legislation was against Moldovan law and recommended that the Constitutional Court declare it unconstitutional. Otherwise, Moldova was likely to lose the case at the European Court of Human Rights, where the Party of Communists was determined to go if the Constitutional Court had declined its appeal.
The Constitutional Court rulings are final and cannot be appealed.