MATTHEWS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT 16 European Parliament was now transformed from a mere advisory and supervisory organ to a body which assumed, or assumed at least in part, the powers and functions of legislative bodies within the meaning of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1. The High Contracting Parties had undertaken to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which would ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature. She described the powers of the European Parliament not solely in terms of the new matters added by the Maastricht Treaty, but also by reference to its pre-existing powers, in particular those which were added by the Single European Act in 1986. 47. The Commission did not examine this point, as it found Article 3 not to be applicable to supranational representative organs. 48. In determining whether the European Parliament falls to be considered as the “legislature”, or part of it, in Gibraltar for the purposes of Article 3 of Protocol No. 1, the Court must bear in mind the sui generis nature of the European Community, which does not follow in every respect the pattern common in many States of a more or less strict division of powers between the executive and the legislature. Rather, the legislative process in the EC involves the participation of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission. 49. The Court must ensure that “effective political democracy” is properly served in the territories to which the Convention applies, and in this context, it must have regard not solely to the strictly legislative powers which a body has, but also to that body’s role in the overall legislative process. 50. Since the Maastricht Treaty, the European Parliament’s powers are no longer expressed to be “advisory and supervisory”. The removal of these words must be taken as an indication that the European Parliament has moved away from being a purely consultative body, and has moved towards being a body with a decisive role to play in the legislative process of the European Community. The amendment to Article 137 of the EC Treaty cannot, however, be taken as any more than an indication as to the intentions of the drafters of the Maastricht Treaty. Only on examination of the European Parliament’s actual powers in the context of the European Community legislative process as a whole can the Court determine whether the European Parliament acts as the “legislature”, or part of it, in Gibraltar. 51. The European Parliament’s role in the Community legislative process depends on the issues concerned (see paragraphs 15-16 above). Where a regulation or directive is adopted by means of the consultation procedure (for example under Articles 99 or 100 of the EC Treaty) the European Parliament may, depending on the specific provision, have to be consulted. In such cases, the European Parliament’s role is limited. Where the EC Treaty requires the procedure set out in Article 189c to be used, the