Campaign Finance Law

Chapter 1 Introduction 1
1.1 Campaign Finance: The Topic and Its History 1
1.1.1 The Topic: A Definition 1
1.1.2 The History 2
1.2 Fundamental Rationales of Campaign Finance Regulation 10
1.2.1 Scope of the Present Project 11
1.2.2 Research Questions 12
1.3 Choice of Jurisdictions and Research Techniques 14
1.4 Academic and Social Relevance 16

Chapter 2 The Constitutional Framework of Campaign Finance Regulation: Fundamental Principles 21
2.1 Identifying the Rationales: A Primer 21
2.1.1 Political Corruption 22
2.1.1.1 A Proper Definition 22
2.1.1.2 Syndromes of Corruption 23
2.1.2 Equality 25
2.1.3 Freedom of Speech 26
2.1.4 Legitimacy and Public Trust 28
2.1.5 Transparency 30
2.1.6 Inclusion 31
2.3 Typology 33
2.3.1 Functional Placement 33
2.3.2 Types of Campaign Finance and Its Regulation 33
2.4 GRECO: A Most Useful Tool 36

Chapter 3 Campaign Finance Regulation in the U.S. 39
3.1 Historical Background, Main Characteristics and Constitutional Aspects 39
3.1.1 The Roots of Campaign Finance Regulation in the U.S. 39
3.1.2 The Origins of the Current Legal Framework: The Federal Election Campaign Act 41
3.2 The Role of the U.S. Supreme Court: Shaping Campaign Finance Regulation 42
3.2.1 The Foundations 43
3.2.2 Evolution 46
3.2.3 The Challenge of Soft Money 50
3.2.4 The Fundamental Shift 53
3.2.5. Major Constitutional Issues in the Supreme Court’s Jurisprudence 56
3.3 The U.S. Federal Campaign Finance System: Current Legislation and Typology 59
3.3.1 Public Campaign Finance 60
3.3.2 Private Campaign Finance 61
3.3.3 Assessment 64
3.4 Supervision and Enforcement: The Federal Election Commission 64
3.4.1 Structure 65
3.4.2 Powers 66
3.4.3 Assessment 68
3.4.3.1 Strengths 68
3.4.3.2 Inefficiencies 68
3.5 Corruption Issues and GRECO’s Evaluation 72
3.5.1 Campaign Contributions and Influence 72
3.5.2 Incumbents and Challengers 73
3.5.3 Legitimacy of the Political System 74
3.5.4 GRECO’s evaluation on Party Funding Transparency 75

Chapter 4 Campaign Finance Regulation in the U.K. 79
4.1 Historical Background, Main Characteristics and Constitutional Aspects 79
4.2 The Transformation of the U.K. Campaign Finance Regulation Regime 80
4.2.1 The PPERA 80
4.2.2 Free Airtime and Other Means of Public Financing to the Political Parties 84
4.2.3 Freedom of Expression and the PPERA: Bowman v. The United Kingdom 85
4.2.3.1 The Background 85
4.2.3.2 The Proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights 87
4.2.3.3 The Assessment by the Committee on Standards in Public Life 89
4.2.4 A Judge’s Insight into the Differences with U.S. Campaign Finance Values 90
4.3 The U.K. Campaign Finance System: Current Legislation and Typology 91
4.3.1 Public Campaign Finance 92
4.3.2 Private Campaign Finance 93
4.3.3 Assessment 97
4.4 Supervision and Enforcement: The U.K. Electoral Commission 97
4.4.1 Structure 98
4.4.2 Powers 99
4.4.3 Assessment 101
4.4.3.1 Strengths 101
4.4.3.2 Inefficiencies 103
4.5 GRECO’s Evaluation 106
4.5.1 GRECO’s Approach to the Framework 106
4.5.2 GRECO Recommendations 107

Chapter 5 Campaign Finance Regulation in Greece 111
5.1 Historical Background, Main Characteristics and Constitutional Aspects 111
5.2 Campaign Finance Regulation as a Tool in Defending Democratic Values 115
5.2.1 Legal Basis 115
5.2.2 Proceedings before the Council of State 116
5.3 Legitimate Public Funding, Disclosure of Contributions and the Right to Privacy in Greece 117
5.3.1 The Hellenic Data Protection Authority 119
5.3.2 Legal Basis 119
5.3.2 The Case 120
5.3.4 The Decision 122
5.4 The Greek Campaign Finance System: Current Legislation in Detail and Typology 124
5.4.1 Public Campaign Finance 124
5.4.2 Private Campaign Finance 125
5.4.3 Assessment 128
5.5 Supervision and Enforcement: The Greek Control Committee 128
5.5.1 Structure 128
5.5.2 Powers 129
5.5.3. Assessment 131
5.5.3.1. Strengths 131
5.5.3.2 Inefficiencies 132
5.6 GRECO’s Evaluation 134
5.6.1 GRECO’s Approach to the Framework 134
5.6.2 Recommendations 136

Chapter 6 Comparative Assessment 143
6.1 Comparative Analysis Background 143
6.2 Major Campaign Finance Norms 143
6.2.1 Permissible Donors 144
6.2.2 Independent Expenditures and Contributions 145
6.3 Public and Private Campaign Finance 148
6.3.1 Realities Drive Regulation 149
6.3.2 Public Campaign Finance 149
6.3.3 Private Campaign Finance 150
6.4 Tackling Political Corruption 152
6.4.1 The Link of Political Corruption to Campaign Finance Violations 152
6.4.2 Contribution Limits 153
6.4.3 Expenditure Limits 153
6.4.4 Unlawful Contributions 154
6.4.4.1 Unlawful Private Funding 154
6.4.4.2 Unlawful Public Funding 154
6.4.4.3 Quid Pro Quo Contributions 155
6.5 Regulatory Mechanisms 156
6.5.1 Independence 156
6.5.2 Flexible Decision-Making Procedures 158
6.5.3 Transparency, Legitimacy and Public Trust 159
6.5.4 Investigatory and Coercive Powers 159
6.6 GRECO’s Perception 161

Chapter 7 Towards Campaign Finance Reform 169
7.1 Introduction 169
7.2 Campaign Finance Constitutional Principles in Review 170
7.2.1 Towards Conclusions of Universal Constitutional Value 170
7.2.2 Political Corruption 171
7.2.3 Equality 172
7.2.4 Freedom of Speech 174
7.2.5 Legitimacy 176
7.2.6 Transparency 177
7.2.7 Inclusion 179
7.2.8 Striking a Balance: The Role of the Judiciary 180
7.3 Campaign Finance Regulation: A Roadmap for Future Regulation 182
7.3.1 Public Campaign Finance: Helping or Underlining the System? 182
7.3.2 The Role of Control Mechanisms 184
7.3.2.1 Legal Foundation 184
7.3.2.2 Independence 185
7.3.2.3 Commitment 185
7.3.2.4 Transparency 186
7.3.3 Lessons to be Learnt 187
7.3.4 Regulatory System Orientation and Typology 187
7.3.5 GRECO: The Need for More Systematic Review 189
7.3.5.1 Towards a New Universal System 190
7.3.6 A Constant Need for Improvement 191

List of Cases