Registration of political parties (P.73-2007) - amendments

STATES OF JERSEY

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REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES (P.73/2007): AMENDMENTS

Lodged au Greffe on 14th June 2007 by Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier

STATES GREFFE

REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES (P.73/2007): AMENDMENTS ____________

1. In paragraph (a)(ii) delete sub-paragraph (5).
2. In paragraph (a)(iv) delete the words"and to supply the Courtan updated list of membersatleast once every 12months".
3. In paragraph (a)(v) for the words", the namesof their officials and the listofmembers" substitute the words "and the namesoftheirofficials".
4. In paragraph (b) after the words"or its abbreviation," insert the words "together with the party emblem,".

DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER

REPORT

As the only fully constituted political party in the Island prepared to endorse candidates, the Jersey Democratic Alliance, of which I am a member, fully supports the Privileges and Procedures Committee initiative to enable the registration of political parties. We believe that the time has come for the development of a party political system, and that such a development will have a positive impact on voter participation and election turnout. Furthermore I am glad to see that, by and large, PPC has followed the simple and broad outline contained in the proposition previously lodged by me on 11th January 2007.

However, the JDA and I share two serious reservations about the proposition. Firstly we believe that the requirement to publish a list of all members of the party to be made available to the public may well be in contravention of either or both Article 8, the right to private life, and Article 11, the right to freedom of assembly of the European Convention on Human Rights and hence the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000.

Furthermore, this requirement may also be open to challenge under the Data Protection Law as to whether the holding of such data is proportionate to the need to regulate this issue.

It is clear, as set out in Appendix 1, that this data clearly falls into the category of"sensitive personal data" as defined in Article 2 of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005, and is therefore subject to the first and third principles of data protection. Under the third principle, the requirement to grant public access to this data must surely fail to meet the condition that it is "not excessive". In addition PPC must surely prove that this requirement meets the stringent conditions for the holding of sensitive data in both Schedules 2 and 3 of the law.

This requirement does not exist in the equivalent U.K. legislation, that is, the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998, and the Political Parties: Elections and Referendums Act 2000. Neither does it appear as a requirement for the registration of either charities or trade unions in the Island. PPC, in their report, have given no reason why they have included such a requirement. It appears only to serve as a spurious and bureaucratic hurdle for parties to jump over.

Whilst the government and the public has the right to know who the officers of a party are, it is not clear what legitimate function is served by full knowledge of the membership list. At the time of writing, I am actively seeking answers to these questions, but to my mind, the requirement is a clear breach of individual privacy.

Secondly, there is no provision for the printing of a party emblem on the ballot paper. Again no reason is given by PPC, and yet this is common practice in most jurisdictions. It is of particular importance to those whose first language is not English, and to voters who cannot read. PPC appears to be ambivalent over the issue of emblems. It apparently accepts that an emblem is useful to the purpose of getting a political message over to the electorate on manifestos, leaflets and banners, etc., therefore, requiring regulation, but baulks at the final stage of putting that clear, identifiable emblem on the ballot paper.

Nor should it be thought that the inclusion of a party emblem is a difficult or complex matter; the U.K.'s Registration of Political Parties Act 1998 deals with it quite simply as follows in Appendix 2.

There are no additional financial or manpower implications arising from this amendment.

2 S e nsitive personal data

In this Law "sensitive personal data" means, in relation to a data subject, personal data consisting of information as to –

1. t he racial or ethnic origin ofthe data subject;
2. t he political opinions of the data subject;
3. t he data subject's religious beliefs orother beliefs of a similar nature;
4. w hether the data subject is a memberof a trade union;
5. t he data subject'sphysical or mental health orcondition;
6. th e data subject's sexual life;
7. t he data subject'scommission,or alleged commission,ofanyoffence;or
8. a ny proceedings for any offence committed, or alleged to have been committed,bythe data subject, the disposalofanysuchproceedingsor any sentenceof a court in any such proceedings.

THE DATA PROTECTION PRINCIPLES

1 F ir st principle

Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and, in particular, shall not be processed unless –

1. i n every case – at least oneof the conditions set out in paragraphs 1-6of Schedule 2 ismet;and
2. i n the caseof sensitive personal data – at least one of the conditions in paragraphs1-10of Schedule 3 is also met.

2 S e cond principle

Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawful purposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose or those purposes.

3 T h ird principle

Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose or purposes for which they are processed.

FIRST PRINCIPLE: CONDITIONS FOR PROCESSING OF SENSITIVE PERSONAL DATA

1 C o nsent

The data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of the personal data.

2 E m ployment

The processing is necessary for the purposes of exercising or performing any right, or obligation, conferred or imposed by law on the data controller in connection with employment.

3 V i tal interests

The processing is necessary –

1. i n order to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another person, in a casewhere consent cannot begivenbyoronbehalf of the data subject, or the data controller cannotreasonablybe expected toobtaintheconsentof the data subject;or
2. i n orderto protect the vital interests ofanotherperson,in a casewhere consent byor on behalfofthe data subject has been unreasonably withheld.

4 N o n-profit associations The processing –

1. is carried out in the course of its legitimate activities by any body, or association, that is not established orconducted for profit, and existsfor political, philosophical, religious ortrade-union purposes;
2. i s carried out with appropriatesafeguardsfor the rights and freedoms of data subjects;
3. r elates only to individuals whoaremembersof the bodyor association or have regular contact with it in connection with its purposes; and
4. d oesnot involve disclosure of the personal data to a thirdpartywithout the consentof the data subject.

5 D a ta subject has made information public

The information contained in the personal data has been made public as a result of steps deliberately taken by the data subject.

6 L e gal proceedings etc.

The processing –

1. i s necessary for the purpose of, orin connection with, any legal proceedings;
2. i s necessary for the purpose ofobtaininglegaladvice;or
3. i s otherwise necessary for the purposes of establishing, exercising or defendinglegal rights.

7 P u blic functions

The processing is necessary for –

1. t he administration of justice;
2. t heexercise of any functionsconferred on anypersonbyorunderanenactment;or
3. t heexercise of anyfunctionsof the Crown,the States, any administration of the States oranypublic authority.

8 M e dical purposes

1. T he processing is necessaryformedical purposes andisundertaken by –

1. a health professional; or
2. a personwhoin the circumstances owes a duty of confidentiality equivalent to that which would arise if that person were a health professional.

2. In this paragraph"medical purposes" includes the purposes of preventative medicine, medical diagnosis, medical research, the provisionofcare and treatment, and the managementof healthcare services.

9 E q ual opportunity research

The processing –

1. i s of sensitive personal data consisting of information as to racial or ethnic origin;
2. i s necessary for the purpose of identifying orkeepingunder review the existence orabsenceof equality of opportunity or treatmentbetween persons of different racial or ethnic origins, with a view to enablingsuchequality to bepromotedor maintained; and
3. i s carried out with appropriatesafeguardsfor the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

10 C ircumstances prescribed by Regulations

The personal data are processed in such circumstances as may be prescribed by Regulations.

5. I n t heAppendixofForms, for the form of the frontof the ballot paperthere shall be substituted the form set outin the Appendix to this Schedule.
6. I n t he Directions as to printing the ballot paperin the AppendixofForms –

( a) in paragraph 2(a) for"and the particulars of the candidates" substitute ", the particulars of the

candidates and words forming part of emblems", and

(b ) af t er paragraph 3 add –

" 3 A . W h e re an emblem is to be printed against a candidate's particulars –

( a ) i t sh a l l b e printed between the candidate's particulars and the vertical rule

separating the candidates' particulars from the spaces where the vote is to be marked, and

(b ) i t s s i z e a s p r inted shall not exceed two centimetres square.".