The Commission's transnational activities enable it to carry out the main
duties laid down in its Statute, which are to improve the functioning of
democratic institutions, knowledge of legal systems and understanding of the
legal culture of countries working with it. While most of the work of the
Commission is country specific, the Commission also prepares, through its
own initiative and at request of outside bodies such us the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe, studies and reports addressing topics of
general interest in the member and observer states.
A. Comparative studies on topics to do with the functioning of
democracy offer initial overviews of the law in various countries. Such a
comparative approach then makes it possible to identify constitutional values
that are shared throughout Europe and, where relevant, any areas of weakness.
The third stage is that of harmonisation, in which, on the basis of Commission
recommendations, the principles concerned are incorporated into the law of those
countries where they have not yet been established.
B. The UniDem seminars bring leading specialists from the political
and academic worlds and constitutional courts (or equivalent bodies) and the
Commission into contact with, for example, a specific university or
constitutional court. Reports are presented on particular countries or specific
aspects of the topics under discussion. By allowing exchanges between
specialists from a variety of backgrounds, the UniDem seminars help to define
the rules common to democratic states in which human rights and the rule of law
are respected
In 2001, to respond to the need of ensuring stability in South East Europe,
by implementation of important legal reforms in these countries, the Commission
launched the UNIDEM
Campus, a programme of legal training for civil servants
from nine countries of South-East Europe and Ukraine and Belarus.
