Council of Europe

5th Congress of the WCCJ (Bali, 4-7 October 2022) 

On 4-7 October 2022 the World Conference on Constitutional Justice held its 5th Congress on the topic “Constitutional Justice and Peace” that was hosted by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia in Bali. 

• Useful link: 5th Congress of the WCCJ in pictures

A total of 94 delegations from constitutional courts and equivalent institutions participated in the Congress making a total of 583 participants. The Constitutional Court of Indonesia and the World Conference ensured that members courts from least developed counties could participate. 

The notion of peace was tackled by the 5th Congress in the broad sense of social peace within the state and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, rather than as a concept of public international law, which relates to inter-state conflicts, as such conflicts are typically outside the remit of constitutional courts. 
 

The President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Joko Widodo, the President Emeritus/Special Representative of the Venice Commission, Mr Gianni Buquicchio, and the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, Mr Anwar Usman, opened the Congress. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Ms Retno Marsudi, delivered a welcoming speech.

The following sessions took place:

A. "Sources and Jurisdiction" 
B. "Application" 
C. "Limitation of the Role of Constitutional Courts in Maintaining Peace"
D. "Fundamental Principles: The Protection of Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law as A Pre-Condition to Peace"
E. "Stocktaking on the Independence of the Member Courts".
 

The Congress ended with the adoption of the Bali Communiqué. 

On 5 October 2022 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation terminated its membership in the World Conference on Constitutional Justice. 

On 27 December 2022, the Supreme Court of The Gambia joined the World Conference on Constitutional Justice. On 10 January 2023, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq joined as the 120th member. On 10 February 2023, the Federal Supreme Court of Malawi joined as the 121st member.

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The World Conference on Constitutional Justice unites 121 Constitutional Courts and Councils and Supreme Courts in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia/Oceania and Europe. It promotes constitutional justice – understood as constitutional review including human rights case-law – as a key element for democracy, the protection of human rights and the rule of law (Article 1.1 of the Statute).

According to its Statute, the World Conference has three organs, the General Assembly, the Bureau and the Secretariat. The General Assembly is chaired by the Host Court of the Congress. The Presidency of the Bureau is ensured for one year by rotation between the groups. The Presidency of the Bureau is therefore not that of an individual Court but of a group of Courts. It is up to the groups to designate their representative. The Venice Commission acts as the Secretariat of the World Conference.

The World Conference pursues its objectives through the organisation of regular congresses, by participating in regional conferences and seminars, by sharing experiences and case-law and by offering good services to members on their request (Article 1.2 of the Statute).

The main purpose of the World Conference is to facilitate judicial dialogue between constitutional judges on a global scale. Due to the obligation of judicial restraint, constitutional judges sometimes have little occasion to conduct a constructive dialogue on constitutional principles in their countries. The exchanges that take place between judges from various parts of the world in the World Conference furthers reflection on arguments, which promote the basic goals inherent to national constitutions. Even if these texts often differ substantially, discussion on the underlying constitutional concepts unites constitutional judges from various parts of the world committed to promoting constitutionality in their own country.

As these judges sometimes find themselves in situations of conflict with other state powers because of decisions they had to hand down based on the Constitution, being part of the World Conference provides them with a forum that not only allows them to exchange information freely with their peers, but where judges from other countries can also offer moral support. This can be important in upholding constitutional principles, which the judges are called upon to defend in their line of work.

The Courts and Councils, members of and committed to the principles of the World Conference may see their membership suspended by the General Assembly of the World Conference in case of flagrant violation of these principles.
 

The following Courts or Councils have given written notification about their accession to the Venice Commission, which acts as the Secretariat of the World Conference (status October2022):
 

History of the World Conference:

Since 1996, the Venice Commission has established co-operation with a number of regional or language based groups of constitutional courts, in particular the Conference of European Constitutional Courts, the Association of Constitutional Courts using the French Language, the Southern African Judges Commission, the Conference of Constitutional Control Organs of Countries of New Democracy, the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions, the Union of Arab Constitutional Courts and Councils, the Ibero-American Conference of Constitutional Justice and the Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa.
 

In pursuit of the goal of uniting these groups and their members, the Venice Commission had organised a Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice for the first time, held in Cape Town, South Africa on 23-24 January 2009 and hosted by the Constitutional Court of South Africa. This event gathered 9 regional or linguistic groups and some 90 courts.
 

On the basis of a declaration adopted at this occasion, the Venice Commission assisted a Bureau in the establishment of the World Conference as a permanent body. At their first meeting in Mexico, in April 2009, the Bureau prepared a draft statute, which was discussed at other meetings of the Bureau on 12 December 2009 and 5 June 2010 in Venice together with questions of the organisation of a second Congress.
 

Eighty-eight Constitutional Courts, Constitutional Councils and Supreme Courts as well as the 10 regional and linguistic groups of courts from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe gathered for a 2^nd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice on the topic "Separation of Powers and Independence of Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies". This event was hosted by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 16-18 January 2011 in co-operation with the Venice Commission.
 

The draft statute was amended on this occasion and finally adopted at another meeting of the Bureau on 23 May 2011 on the occasion of the XVth Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts.

 

With the accession of more than 30 Constitutional Courts, Constitutional Councils and Supreme Courts exercising constitutional justice, the Statute of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice entered into force on 24 September 2011.

 

The 3rd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice on the topic ‘Constitutional Justice and Social Integration’ was hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea on 28 September – 1 October 2014. The participants of the 3rd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice adopted the Seoul Communiqué.
 

The congress examined how constitutional courts have dealt with social integration and – in its absence – with social conflict. The participating judges were able to draw inspiration from the experience of their peers, whether from positive examples or from cases where the courts were unable to solve these issues. In addition to the 1st General Assembly of the World Conference, a stock-taking exercise took place during the 3rd Congress.

Upon invitation by the Constitutional Court of Lithuania, the 4th Congress of the World Conference on the "Rule of Law and Constitutional Justice in the Modern World" was held in in Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania, on 11-14 September 2017.
 

The 4th Congress concluded that within the framework of their constitutional competence, Constitutional Courts ensure the respect for and the implementation of national constitutions and exert a strong influence on shaping the content of the principle of the rule of law.

The stocktaking on the independence of Constitutional Courts of the 4th Congress showed that a number of courts had come under pressure from the executive and the legislative powers of their respective countries, but also from the media. The 4th Congress called upon the member Courts of the World Conference to resist pressure and to render their decisions only on the basis of the constitutions of their respective countries and the principles enshrined in them. The World Conference offered its good offices to courts that come under pressure, should they so wish.


The 2nd General Assembly of the World Conference, held on this occassion, amended the Statute of the World Conference and elected the Constitutional Council of Djibouti and the Constitutional Courts of the Dominican Republic, Indonesia and Italy as members of the Bureau.