BATASUNA BEFORE THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: "MULTILEVEL" PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE AND THE LAW OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN SPAIN

The Decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Batasuna and Henri Batasuna v. Spain is taken as a case study, in the context of the European integration process, of a multilevel protection of fundamental rights. Main allegations posed in this case were decided by the ECtHR applying to the right of association (and to other rights also alleged before political parties) a lower standard of protection than that provided by Spanish law. The provisions of the Spanish Organic Law on Political Parties, the possibility of prohibition of parties due to ideological reasons, the proportionality of restrictions to the functioning of political parties and the impartiality of Courts entitled to rule on the right to associate in a political party are analyzed under this perspective.