The Principle of Predictability in the Court Work as Important Demand of Democracy

The research considers the importance of principle of Predictability for the observance of democracy. The law, permitting the restriction of rights, must be clear and understandable. The emphasis has been laid on the close links of this principle with the rule of Law principle: in the law, which allows its discretion, there should be defined the limits of intrusion, the lack of the latter leads to the arbitrary despotism of a state. It has been proved that courts, giving permission for restriction of certain rights, ought to have sufficient guarantees against possible misapplications. It has been stressed that in case, when the restriction is not prescribed in legislation, the courts must refer either to Convention or court precedents. Despite different definitions of the phrase "provided by law" existing in legislature of different countries, the courts must primarily uphold the ideals of democracy.