An international commission has asked South Korea's Constitutional Court to provide a translation of its recent ruling to disband a political party accused of exercising pro-North Korean principles, officials said Sunday.
The Venice Commission, made up of independent specialists, advises countries on constitutional matters. According to the officials, the commission has asked to see the full ruling statement as soon as possible. South Korea is a member of the 47-state organization.
South Korea's Constitutional Court on Friday ordered the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party (UPP), a minor opposition political party, in the first such decision since the adoption of the country's constitution in 1948.
The nine-member court ruled eight to one that the UPP had violated the basic democratic order stipulated in South Korea's Constitution by aiming for North Korean-style socialism and accepted the government's argument that the country needs to safeguard democracy and national security by dissolving the party.
Officials said a translation of the ruling statement, 347 pages in total, will likely take longer than six months.
The Venice Commission has in the past provided its views on prohibition and dissolution of political parties. Kang Il-won, a judge on the Constitutional Court, said in September that the court received background material, including guidelines and precedents in other countries, from the commission for the UPP ruling. (Yonhap)
