Recent and Current Events
01/03/2022
Today, the President of the Venice Commission, Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, made the following statement:
“Following consultation with the Bureau of the Venice Commission, I express the deep shock and dismay generated by the aggression against Ukraine.
Using violence instead of dialogue goes against everything that the Venice Commission stands for; it goes against the core values of the Council of Europe: democracy, the rule of law and, of course, the protection of human rights.
Through its work, the Venice Commission supported Ukraine in the promotion of European prin... read more
24/02/2022
Ulaanbaatar - The Venice Commission is organising a training seminar in cooperation with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Mongolia entitled “Transnational constitutional activity in the modern international relations”. The seminar will take place online and will gather representatives from Mongolia as well from the Association of the Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions (AACC). Mongolia is holding the Presidency of the AACC until 2023.
The event will be opened by the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Mongolia, Mr Chinbat Namjil, and by the ... read more
Council of Europe’s European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG)
24/02/2022 - 25/02/2022
Strasbourg - The European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) organised the 1st meeting of the Working Group on Principles of Good Democratic Governance (GT-BG) on drafting a recommendation for the Committee of Ministers on Principles of good democratic governance. A representative of the Venice Commission presented its relevant work.
23/02/2022 - 24/02/2022
In the framework of the preparation of the draft opinion on the draft Law on the dismantling of the section for investigating criminal offences within the judiciary of Romania, a delegation of the Venice Commission met online with the representatives of the following interlocutors:
• Parliament,
• Minister of Justice,
• Anti-Corruption Directorate,
• Professional associations of judges and prosecutors,
• Superior Council of Magistracy,
• International community, and
• NGOs.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption during the March 20... read more
21/02/2022
Paris – the President of the Venice Commission, Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, participated in a conference of the heads of the Supreme Courts of the member states of the European Union. The plenary sessions and three workshops were held at the Constitutional Council, the Court of Cassation and the State Council of France, in Paris. It was organised in the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
21/02/2022
Strasbourg, Council of Europe – Today, the Venice Commission issued its Urgent Interim Opinion on constitutional reform in Belarus.
The opinion was prepared upon the request by the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
It will be endorsed during the March 2022 plenary session (18-19 March 2022).
21/02/2022
Paris – on the side-lines of the Conference of the Heads of the Supreme Courts of the EU member States, the President of the Venice Commission, Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, met with the EU Commissioner for Justice, Mr Didier Reynders. The discussions mainly concerned the cooperation between the Venice Commission and the European Union.
15/02/2022 - 16/02/2022
Within the framework of the preparation of the draft joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DG1) of the Council of Europe on the draft laws on making amendments to the Constitutional Law on the Judicial Code and to the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court of Armenia, a delegation of the Venice Commission met online with the representatives of the following institutions:
• the Ministry of Justice,
• the National Assembly, the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs,
• the Corruption Prevention C... read more
10/02/2022
Strasbourg – Today the Venice Commission, jointly with the OSCE/ODHIR, has issued an Urgent Joint Opinion on the draft law on local referendum in Ukraine. The opinion was requested by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mr Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The opinion was prepared under the Action Plan for Ukraine. It will be endorsed at the March 2022 plenary session (18-19 March 2022).
09/02/2022 - 10/02/2022
In the framework of the preparation of the draft opinion on the Concept Paper on the Vetting of Judges and Prosecutors of Kosovo, a delegation of the Venice Commission met with the following interlocutors:
• Legal team of the Office of the President,
• Minister of Justice and other governmental officials,
• Prosecution, Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils,
• Political parties,
• International community,
• civil society.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption during the March 2022 plenary session (18-19 March 2022).
04/02/2022
By letter dated 22 December 2022, the Minister for State Domains and Land Affairs of Tunisia, Mr Mohamed Rekik, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft code on national property, law on confiscation of assets and on the establishment of an Agency in charge of the confiscation and management of confiscated assets.
04/02/2022
By letter dated 2 February 2022, the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Piero Fassino, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the Law on Media of Azerbaijan.
04/02/2022
By letter dated 2 February 2022 the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Piero Fassino, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on December 2021 amendments to the Organic Law on Common Courts of Georgia.
03/02/2022
Earlier today Mr Pierre Garrone, Secretary of the Council for Democratic Elections (Venice Commission), addressed the Global Elections Day Summit 2022 (online).
The Global Elections Day (GED) 2022 was organised by the ACEEEO; its aim is to celebrate one of the most important democratic institutions – elections. GED was initiated by the GEO*/ACEEEO conference in 2005.
The goals of the GED Summit 2022, held online, were:
• to celebrate elections, a cornerstone of democracy;
• to acknowledge election officials, working relentlessly as guards of the democracy... read more
02/02/2022 - 03/02/2022
Zagreb – in the framework of the preparation of the forthcoming draft opinion on the introduction of the procedure of renewal of security vetting through amendments to the Courts Act, a delegation of the Venice Commission met with the representatives of the following authorities:
• Ministry of Justice and Public Administration,
• State Attorney’s Office,
• Supreme Court,
• Association of Croatian judges,
• State Attorneys Council,
• State Judicial Council,
• as well as with the civil society.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adop... read more
31/01/2022
On 31 January 2022 the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law Dismantling the Section for the Investigation of Offences committed within the Judiciary in Romania.
27/01/2022
The 7th coordination meeting of the UniDem Med project (University for democracy for the Southern Mediterranean) took place by videoconference on 27 January 2022. This annual meeting gathered the national coordinators representing Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine* and Tunisia in order to take stock of the 2021 UniDem Med seminars. The participants also discussed their respective priorities as regards modernisation of public administration and determined the topics, dates and venues of the UniDem Med seminars which will take place in 2022 as follows:
- “Public se... read more
27/01/2022
The Constitutional Court of Chile held an online seminar on the system of constitutional justice and the relevance of constitutional courts in defending democracy and the rule of law entitled “Who should defend the Constitution?”
The Special Representative of the Venice Commission, Mr Gianni Buquicchio, addressed the participants of this seminar.
26/01/2022
Strasbourg, Council of Europe – Today, the President of the Venice Commission Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie met with the newly elected president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mr Tiny Kox. The two presidents exchanged their views on the cooperation between the two entities.
24/01/2022
A representative of the Venice Commission participated in a meeting of the European cooperation network on elections, organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. He intervened on the electoral standards during pandemics.
24/01/2022
By letter dated 5 January 2022, the President of the Senate of Chile Ms Ximena RINCON GONZALEZ requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on certain questions related to the constitutional reform.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption by the March plenary session of the Commission (18-19 March 2022).
21/01/2022
By letter dated 18 November 2021, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine requested an amicus curiae brief on the limits of subsequent (a posteriori) review of Constitutional amendments by the Constitutional Court.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption during the 130th plenary session (18-19 March 2022).
18/01/2022
The Bureau of the Venice Commission has decided that the draft opinion on the Law on the prevention of threats to national security, associated with excessive influence of persons having significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs) will be submitted for discussion and adoption at its 130th Plenary Session (18-19 March 2022).
13/01/2022 - 14/01/2022
In the framework of the preparation of the urgent opinion on the draft law "On local referendum", the rapporteurs of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR met online with the representatives of the following Ukrainian stakeholders:
- the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development and the Verkhovna Rada factions,
- the Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada,
- the Central Election Commission,
- representatives of the international community and NGOs.
The urgent opinion will be issued in due course ... read more
12/01/2022
Strasbourg, Council of Europe – The newly elected President of the Venice Commission, Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, paid a working visit to the Council of Europe on 12 January 2022.
In the course of the visit the President met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić. The dignitaries exchanged views on current democratic challenges faced by the Council of Europe’s member States and the assistance the Commission is providing to them.
08/01/2022
Tashkent - The President of the Venice Commission, Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, sent a video message to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.
In her address Ms Bazy Malaurie highlighted a very good level of the ongoing co-operation strands between Uzbekistan and the Venice Commission focusing on the strengthening and promotion of the rule of law principles in the process of modernising the country’s constitutional and legal framework.
03/01/2022
It is with deep regret that the Venice Commission announces the death of Mr Bernard Owen, a renown electoral expert.
From the beginning of the 1990s, Mr Owen was the first expert to work regularly with the Venice Commission on elections, and in particular on opinions relating to electoral legislation. He greatly contributed to the work of the Parliamentary Assembly, and then of the Venice Commission, which led to the drafting of the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, the Council of Europe's reference document in the field of elections, adopted by the Venice Commission, app... read more
30/12/2021
On 28 December 2021, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ordered the closure of Memorial International. Memorial International is an non-commercial organization which has operated in the Russian Federation since 1992 with a view to “studying political repressions in the USSR and in present-day Russia and promoting moral and legal rehabilitation of persons subjected to political repressions”. It is one of the most prominent civil society organisations active in the field of human rights protection in the Russian Federation. The closure of Memorial International appears to have been or... read more
21/12/2021
On 14 December 2021, the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Michael Aastrup Jensen, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on amendments to the Federal Law “On the Bar and the Legal Profession in the Russian Federation”.
21/12/2021
On 16 December 2021 the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Mr Karen Andreasyan, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft laws amending the Judicial Code and the Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court.
21/12/2021
On 14 December 2021 the Minister of Justice and Public of Administration of Croatia, Mr Ivan Malenica, requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on on the introduction of the procedure of renewal of security vetting through amendments to the Courts Act.
21/12/2021
On 16 November 2021, the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Michael Aastrup Jensen, requested a comprehensive opinion of the Venice Commission on the constitutional and legal framework governing the functioning of democratic institutions in Serbia, taking into account the Venice Commission’s earlier opinion on the draft constitutional amendments on the judiciary.
13/12/2021 - 14/12/2021
Venice, Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista – The Special Representative of the Venice Commission Mr Gianni Buquicchio participated in the Conference of the Ministers of Justice - “Crime and criminal justice – the role of restorative justice in Europe”. The event was organised in the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.
11/12/2021
Venice/online – During the 129th plenary session the Enlarged Bureau of the Venice Commission held an exchange of views with the Presidential Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The participants discussed the cooperation between two institutions.
10/12/2021 - 11/12/2021
Venice, Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista / online - Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 129th Plenary Session was held in a hybrid form, in Venice and online.
The Venice Commission:
- Held an exchange of views with Ms Klotilda Bushka Head of the Committee of Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights, Parliament of Albania, and adopted the opinion on the extension of the term of office of the vetting bodies for judges and prosecutors in Albania;
- Took note of a message from Ms Stephie Dracos Minister of Justice and Public Order of Cyprus (on... read more