26/02/2021
It is with deep regret that the Venice Commission announces the death of its founding member from Austria, Prof. Franz Matscher.
Born in South Tyrol / Alto Adige, Franz Matscher studied law in Graz and Paris and joined the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he served inter alia at the Austrian Embassies in Madrid, Paris and Bonn. Following a position as assistant professor in Innsbruck, he became Professor of civil procedural law at the University of Salzburg, where he founded the Austrian Institute for Human Rights. From 1977 to 1998 he was the Austrian Judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
He was member of the Venice Commission from 1990 until his retirement. At the Commission, he co-authored opinions notably in the field of the protection of minorities for Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Franz Matscher published extensively, especially the field of human rights.
The Venice Commission will miss him.