World Conference on Constitutional Justice

Statute : Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish 1st Congress: Cape Town 2009 2nd Congress: Rio de Janeiro 2011

The World Conference on Constitutional Justice unites 71 Constitutional Courts and Councils and Supreme Courts in Africa, the Americas, Asia 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 1.2 of the Statute). The World Conference pursues its objectives through the organisation of regular congresses, by participating in regional conferences and seminars, by promoting 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 in the national constitutions. Even if these texts often differ substantially, discussion on the underlying constitutional concepts unites constitutional judges from various parts of the world who are committed to promote constitutionality in their own country. As these judges sometimes find themselves in situations of conflict with other state powers due to the 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, which are members of and are committed to the principles of the World Conference. may see their membership suspended by the General Assembly of the World Conference, in cases 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 7 June 2013): Albania, Constitutional Court Algeria, Constitutional Council Andorra, Constitutional Court Angola, Constitutional Court Armenia, Constitutional Court Austria, Constitutional Court Azerbaijan, Constitutional Court Belarus, Constitutional Court Belgium, Constitutional Court Benin, Constitutional Court Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil, Federal Supreme Court Bulgaria, Constitutional Court Burkina Faso, Constitutional Council Chad, Constitutional Council Chile, Constitutional Court Congo (Brazzaville), Constitutional Court Congo, Democratic Republic, Supreme Court of Justice Côte d'Ivoire, Constitutional Council Croatia, Constitutional Court Cyprus, Supreme Court Denmark, Supreme Court Egypt, Supreme Constitutional Court Estonia, Supreme Court France, Constitutional Council Gabon, Constitutional Court Georgia, Constitutional Court Germany, Federal Constitutional Court Ghana, Supreme Court Hungary, Constitutional Court Indonesia, Constitutional Court Israel, Supreme Court Italy, Constitutional Court Korea, Republic, Constitutional Court Latvia, Constitutional Court Lithuania, Constitutional Court Lebanon, Constitutional Council Macedonia, Constitutional Court Madagascar, High Constitutional Court Mali, Constitutional Court Mauritania, Constitutional Council Mauritius, Supreme Court Mexico, Supreme Court Moldova, Constitutional Court Mongolia, Constitutional Court Montenegro, Constitutional Court Morocco, Constitutional Council Mozambique, Constitutional Council Netherlands, Council of State Niger, Constitutional Council Norway, Supreme Court Peru, Constitutional Court Pakistan, Supreme Court Poland, Constitutional Tribunal Portugal, Constitutional Court Romania, Constitutional Court Senegal, Constitutional Council Serbia, Constitutional Court Slovakia, Constitutional Court Slovenia, Constitutional Court South Africa, Constitutional Court Spain, Constitutional Court Sweden, Supreme Administrative Court Switzerland, Federal Court Tajikistan, Constitutional Court Thailand, Constitutional Court Togo, Constitutional Court Turkey, Constitutional Court Uganda, Supreme Court Ukraine, Constitutional Court Uzbekistan, Constitutional Court A meeting of the Bureau of the World Conference will take place in Venice on 15 June 2013. The 3^rd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice will be hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic Korea on 28 September – 1 October 2014. 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 the pursuit of the goal of uniting these groups and their members, the Commission organised for the first time a Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, which was held in Cape Town, South Africa on 23-24 January 2009 hosted by the Constitutional Court of South Africa and which gathered together 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 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 2nd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice on the "Separation of Powers and Independence of Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies" hosted by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil in co-operation with the Venice Commission (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16-18 January 2011). The draft statute was amended at 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 has entered into force on 24 September 2011.