The International Journal
of Not-for-Profit Law

Volume 4, Issue 2-3, March 2002

Stankov and the United Macedonian Organization Ilinden v. Bulgaria (European Court of Human Rights: October 2001)

In a case that tracks the earlier freedom of association decisions involving NPOs in Europe, the European Court of Human Rights came out strongly in favor of freedom of expression and assembly rights for the members of the Ilinden Association.  This organization sought to hold patriotic meetings and demonstrations about people it associated with Macedonian heritage and to do so in Bulgaria.  Naturally such meetings and demonstrations would provoke some tension, but the Court did not think that prohibiting such meetings was appropriate under the European Convention.  In other words, the Court held that the prohibition was not “ necessary in a democratic society.”  The conclusion can be summed up in the following statement from the Court: “…if every probability of tension and heated exchange between opposing groups during a demonstration were to warrant its prohibition, society would be faced with being deprived of the opportunity of hearing differing views on any question which offends the sensitivity of the majority opinion.”  This result in entirely consistent with the freedom of association cases discussed in previous issues and represents a true victory for freedom of expression and assembly.  KWS