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The Political Status of Aliens in International Law, Municipal Law and European Community Law

THE political status of an individual depends on the extent of his freedom to undertake political activity and the extent of his opportunity to contribute to the formation of State policy. Freedom of political activity is usually discussed in terms of its constituent freedoms freedom of opinion, expression, association, assembly and so on. An individual's exercise of these freedoms may be affected partly by other individuals and private bodies. For example, a mob may seek by force to prevent him from expressing his views at a public meeting or a newspaper proprietor may deny him the opportunity to publish his views through the printed word. In such cases the manner in which the law regulates the relationship between individuals or between individuals and private bodies will be relevant to an individual's freedom of political activity. More important, however, is the manner in which the law regulates the relationship between the -State and individuals. In the absence of legal restraints, a State may employ its legislative and executive powers to impose and enforce wide-ranging restrictions on political activity. These restrictions may be designed to prohibit an individual from engaging in any such activity at all. Therefore, it is the existence of legal restraints on State action which constitutes the essential condition for the exercise of freedom of political activity. Insofar as such restraints on State action do exist, an individual will be largely free to express his own personality and to attempt to influence State policy. However, his contribution to the formation of State policy will be limited unless the law goes beyond merely restraining repressive State action in the face of political activity on his part and grants him electoral rights and the right of access to public office. Only with electoral rights will an individual be entitled to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to representative State institutions responsible for national policy. Moreover, only with the right access to public office will he be entitled to be appointed to those offices of State whose holders exercise policy-making powers. In liberal democratic States it is assumed that nationals enjoy considerable freedom of political activity as well as electoral rights and the right of access to public office. The purpose of the present article is to examine how far the law requires such States to treat aliens in a similar way.