4.  The applicant party is established as an association registered on the basis of the Associations Act of 1 July 1901. Its name in Basque is Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea – Iparraldeko Erakundea (Basque Nationalist Party – Iparralde Regional Organisation), and its registered office is in Bayonne (France). “Iparralde” is the Basque designation for part of south-western France.
Its constitution of 19 August 1996 states that it is “formed as a regional branch of the EAJ-PNB in the provinces of Laburdi (Labourd), Benafarroa (Lower Navarre) and Zuberoa (Soule)” and adopts “the national ideology of the EAJ-PNB” and “the traditional principles and modus operandi of the EAJ-PNB to the extent that they are compatible with the present Constitution”. The EAJ-PNV (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea – Partido Nacionalista Vasco; the French abbreviation is EAJ-PNB) is a political party established under Spanish law whose aim is to defend and promote Basque nationalism. 5.  The applicant party states that its activities are the same as those of any political party: it devises political programmes, puts forward candidates for elections and takes part in election campaigns. 6.  In order to be able to receive funds, in particular financial contributions from the EAJ-PNV, the applicant party formed a funding association in accordance with section 11 of the Political Life (Financial Transparency) Act of 11 March 1988. On 16 September 1998 it applied to the National Commission on Election Campaign Accounts and Political Funding (Commission nationale des comptes de campagnes et des financements politiques – “the CCFP”) under section 11-1 of the same Act for authorisation of the funding association.
On 22 January 1999 the CCFP rejected the application, giving the following reasons in its decision:
“...
[The CCFP] has been asked to authorise the funding association for the Parti nationaliste basque as that political organisation’s funding association within the meaning of section 11 of the Act of 11 March 1988 as amended.
It was noted in the Commission’s opinion published in the Official Gazette of 18 November 1998 ... and was acknowledged by the [applicant] party’s chairman in his letter of 20 January 1999 that the party receives funds from the Spanish Basque Nationalist Party.
Section 11-4 of Law no. 88-227 of 11 March 1988, as amended by section 16-1 of Law no. 95-65 of 19 January 1995, prohibits the funding of a political party by any foreign legal entity [personne morale].
The Parti nationaliste basque receives financial support from the Spanish Basque Nationalist Party, whose official recognition under Spanish law does not in any way remove its status as a foreign legal entity.
Accordingly, this unlawful source of funding, which accounts for most of the resources of the Parti nationaliste basque, precludes the party from having a funding association authorised in accordance with the law.
...” 7.  On 22 June 1999 the applicant party applied to the CCFP to reconsider its decision. The application was refused on 2 July 1999 in a decision worded as follows:
“...
As to the [alleged] absence of a ban on the financing of a French political party by a foreign political party:
Having compared the provisions of Article L. 52-8 of the Elections Code, applicable to election campaigns, and section 16-1 of the Act of 19 January 1995, the applicant contends that section 16-1 ... simply states that only a political party can fund another political party and that, contrary to the position regarding election campaigns, no provision of any statute or regulations expressly prohibits the funding of a political party by another political party established under the law of a foreign country.
This argument disregards the fifth subsection of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988, as amended by the Acts of 15 January 1990 and 19 January 1995, which provides: ‘No funding association or financial agent may receive direct or indirect contributions or material assistance from a foreign State or a foreign legal entity.’
Pursuant to section 11 of the Act of 11 March 1988, the intervention of a funding association or financial agent is compulsory for the receipt of funds.
It thus follows from these two provisions, read together, that a party cannot receive funds from a political party that is a foreign legal entity.
As to the [alleged] infringement of the Community principle of the free movement of capital and [alleged] incompatibility with developments in national electoral law:
These two principles conflict with express provisions of French law.
Firstly, the free movement of capital does not prevent local law from regulating certain aspects of this principle.
Secondly, the transnational representativeness of parties does not necessarily presuppose financial support from abroad and, contrary to what the applicant argues, the prohibition of such support does not in any way impair the full exercise of the right to vote and to stand for election. ...” 8.  On 3 September 1999 the applicant party applied for judicial review of that decision to the Conseil d’Etat, which dismissed the application on 8 December 2000 in a judgment worded as follows:
“...
Section 11 of the Political Life (Financial Transparency) Act (Law no. 88-227 of 11 March 1988), in the wording resulting from Law no. 90-55 of 15 January 1990, provides that political parties and their territorial and specialist organisations ‘collect funds through the intermediary [of an agent] duly designated by them, which may be either a funding association or an individual’. Section 11-1, inserted into the Act of 11 March 1988 by the Act of 15 January 1990, provides that ‘authorisation to act as a political party’s funding association shall be given by the National Commission on Election Campaign Accounts and Political Funding’. It follows from the first subsection of section 11-6, inserted into the Act of 11 March 1988 by the Act of 15 January 1990, that the granting of authorisation is subject to the funding association’s compliance with the requirements of sections 11-1 and 11-4 of the Act. Among the requirements concerned are those set forth in the penultimate subsection of section 11-4, which provides: ‘No funding association or financial agent of a political party may receive direct or indirect contributions or material assistance from a foreign State or a foreign legal entity.’
...
Substantive legality
The applicant group argues that the Commission erred in its application of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 and that, should the Commission’s interpretation be held to prevail, the statutory provisions cited in support of its decision should be struck down as being contrary to the Constitution and incompatible with France’s international obligations.
As to the alleged erroneous application of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988:
... the penultimate subsection of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 prohibits funding associations from receiving financial contributions ‘from a foreign State or a foreign legal entity’. Foreign political parties, which belong to the category of foreign legal entities, fall within the purview of that prohibition. The amendments resulting from the Act of 19 January 1995 to the second subsection of section 11-4 with the effect, firstly, of prohibiting a legal entity from funding a party or a political group and, secondly, of excluding ‘political parties and groups’ from this prohibition on account of the role conferred on them by Article 4 of the Constitution of 4 October 1958 had neither the purpose nor the effect of exempting foreign political parties from the prohibition on the funding of a French political party by any foreign legal entity. Consequently, the applicant group has no basis for arguing that the impugned decision was based on an erroneous application of the provisions of the penultimate subsection of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 in conjunction with the second subsection of that section.
As to the alleged breach of Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen:
It is not for the Conseil d’Etat, acting in its judicial capacity, to assess whether the law is compatible with the Constitution. Accordingly, the argument that section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 contravenes Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, to which the Preamble to the Constitution refers, fails.
As to the alleged incompatibility of the law with France’s international obligations:
As regards the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms:
The applicant group relies on the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Article 10, paragraph 1, of which secures freedom of expression to everyone ‘without interference by public authority and regardless of borders’ and Article 14 of which provides that the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in the Convention is to be secured ‘without [discrimination] on any ground such as ... national ... origin ...’.
Even accepting, as the applicant group argues, that the rules on the conditions for funding political parties have a bearing on the right to freedom of expression within the meaning of paragraph 1 of Article 10 of the Convention, which includes, as well as the freedom to hold opinions, ‘the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas’, paragraph 2 of the same Article nonetheless provides that ‘[t]he exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities’, may be subject to such ‘restrictions ... as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society’ to the extent that they satisfy one or other of the requirements set forth in that paragraph, among which is ‘the prevention of disorder’.
Political groups and parties falling within the purview of Article 4 of the Constitution of the French Republic are intended to contribute to the exercise of suffrage in the implementation of national sovereignty. In prohibiting foreign States and foreign legal entities from funding national political parties, the legislature sought to preclude the possibility of creating a relationship of dependency which would be detrimental to the expression of national sovereignty. The aim thus pursued is linked to the ‘prevention of disorder’ within the meaning of paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Convention. On account of both the justification of this measure and the fact that the right to freedom of expression is affected only indirectly by the rules governing the funding of political parties, and in view of the margin of appreciation which Article 10, paragraph 2, affords the national legislature, the provisions of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 are not incompatible either with the requirements of Article 10 of the Convention, or indeed with those of Article 14.
As regards Community law:
The applicant group argues that since the resources obtained by the funding association whose authorisation has been refused stem from a political party with its registered office in a member State of the European Community, the provisions of the penultimate subsection of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988, in so far as they apply to a situation governed by Community law, are incompatible with a number of provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community.
...
Thirdly, even supposing that the rules governing the funding of political parties may, in certain respects, have a bearing on the free movement of capital between member States as guaranteed by Article 56 of the EC Treaty, that Article, as Article 58 clearly indicates, does not affect the right of member States to ‘take measures which are justified on grounds of ... public security’. Regard being had both to the aim it pursues and to the limited impact it has on the free movement of capital, the prohibition set forth in the penultimate subsection of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988 is to be counted among the measures that may be taken by a member State under Article 58 of the Treaty. Accordingly, the submission that the Act is incompatible with Article 56 must be dismissed.
Fourthly, the provisions of section 11-4 of the Act of 11 March 1988, which, as stated above, are intended to avoid creating any relationship of dependency between political parties in the performance of their function and a foreign State or a foreign legal entity, are likewise not incompatible with the provisions of Article 191 of the Treaty, which appear in a part of the Treaty dealing with the Community institutions and more specifically the European Parliament, and which read: ‘Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union.’ Accordingly, and even supposing that Article 191 creates any rights in respect of private individuals, this submission must fail. ...”