Recent and Current Events
12/07/2024 - 12/07/2024
Yerevan / online – On 12 July 2024, a Venice Commission representative participated in an on-line meeting organised by a joint working group of the Ministry of Justice and the Parliament of Armenia in the framework of their work on the draft law on national minorities. During this meeting which took place as a follow up to the Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity on the draft law on national minorities (CDL-AD(2024)019) adopted by the Venice Commission at its 139th plenary session, the Venice Commission representative who was Rappor... read more
10/07/2024
The Government of Montenegro has made a voluntary contribution to support the activities of the Venice Commission.
The agreement was signed on 10 July 2024 by Ambassador Božidarka Krunić, Permanent Representative of Montenegro to the Council of Europe, and Mr Bjørn Berge, Deputy Secretary General.
09/07/2024 - 09/07/2024
Sarajevo / online – Mr Kuijer, Vice-President of the Venice Commission, participated online as a keynote speaker in the Policy dialogue on the draft law on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was organised by the EU4Justice in cooperation with the Norwegian-funded Judicial Capacity Building project.
The intervention took place during the opening session. The event aimed at increasing awareness about the Venice Commission Follow-up Interim Opinion on the previous opinions on the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council and ensuring inclusive c... read more
08/07/2024
On 8 July, the Venice Commission participated in an informal exchange of views with representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) which was organised in the Council of Europe on the initiative of the Chair of the Committee of Ministers’ Rapporteur Group on Legal Co-operation (GR-J). The exchange of views aimed to liaise the Venice Commission with CSOs making use and giving visibility to the Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Checklist, in view of its planned updating as further implementation of the Reykjavík Declaration. Also it aimed to enable CSOs to provide feedback on the use and im... read more
04/07/2024 - 05/07/2024
Ostroh / online – Mr Tuori, Honorary President of the Venice Commission, participated in the VIIth International Scientific and Practical Conference “Administrative Justice in Ukraine: Issues of Theory and Practice. Judicial Protection of Political and Civil Rights and Freedoms of Pre-War, War and Post-War Periods”, which was organised by the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
The intervention took place during the second session, on “Protection and restriction of freedom of association in political parties and civil organisations; implementation of... read more
Participation of the Venice Commission in the High-Level Dialogue III
“Good democratic governance in Ukraine: achievements, challenges and the way forward in post-war period”
03/07/2024 - 03/07/2024
Strasbourg – A member of the Venice Commission participated in the High-Level Dialogue III “Good democratic governance in Ukraine: achievements, challenges and the way forward in post-war period”.
The intervention took place during the session on “Political rights and challenges to national security in a war and post-war context in Ukraine and the implementation of international standards”.
02/07/2024 - 03/07/2024
Chişinǎu, Republic of Moldova – Ms Veronika Bílková, Vice-President of the Venice Commission, participated in the Regional Conference on Money in Politics. The conference was jointly organised by the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova, the Intemational Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the Council of Europe, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRl) and the Wes... read more
27/06/2024 - 27/06/2024
Ms Veronika Bílková, Vice-President of the Venice Commission, made a presentation on “Regulating foreign influence: best practices and European standards” during a joint hearing of the Monitoring Committee and the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Furthermore, the Vice-President also participated in a joint hearing of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights with the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on “Examining the legitimacy and legality of the ad hominem term-limit waiver for the incumbent Pre... read more
International conference on "The Internationalisation of the law on political elections"
27/06/2024 - 28/06/2024
Grenoble, France - A representative of the Venice Commission is taking part in a conference on "The Internationalisation of the law on political elections", organised by the University of Grenoble, with a presentation on "European electoral heritage, an expression of universal principles?" and a contribution to a round table on the "Role of organisations in Europe".
27/06/2024 - 27/06/2024
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie, President of the Venice Commission, took part in the Ministerial Conference “Negotiations on the Accession of the Western Balkan Countries to the European Union (Negotiation Chapter 23 – Judiciary, Fight against Corruption and Fundamental Rights) and the Remaining Steps to this Phase”, which was held in Sarajevo on 27 June 2024.
The President of the Venice Commission was invited to give an opening speech at the conference and participated in the ministerial panel together with the Ministers of Justice of Bosnia and Herzeg... read more
25/06/2024
Strasbourg – The President of the Venice Commission Ms Claire Bazy Malaurie held a meeting in Strasbourg with Mr Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
On this occasion they exchanged on their respective activities and discussed potential synergies and avenues for future cooperation. Their discussions illustrated the extent to which the rule of law and human rights are mutually reinforcing, and the need for the rule of law to be fully aligned with human rights.
21/06/2024 - 22/06/2024
Venice, Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista - On 21-22 June 2024 the Venice Commission held its second plenary session of the year, with an agenda that included 17 opinions concerning eight countries (Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, and Poland).