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17-18
October 2008
The
Commission adopted inter alia the
following documents:
- the
joint opinion by the Venice Commission and
OSCE/ODIHR on the
electoral code of Armenia as amended up to
December 2007; the opinion on the Draft
Amendments to the Law on Human Rights Defender of
Armenia as well as the opinion on the issue
of the immunity of persons involved in the
electoral process in Armenia;
- the
amicus curiae briefs in the case of Sejdić
and Finci against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and
the case of Bjelic
against Montenegro and Serbia, pending before
the European Court of Human
Rights;
- the
joint opinion by the Venice Commission and
OSCE/ODIHR on
the
electoral code of Moldova as amended by law N°
76-XVI;
In
addition the Commission held exchange of views
with inter
alia:
- Mr
Ilir Rusmajli, President of the Legal Affairs
Committee of the Assembly of Albania,
- Mr Armen Harutyunyan, Armenian
Human Rights Defender,
- Mr Yuksel
Erdogan, Judge Rapporteur, Ministry of Justice of
Turkey and Mr Kaan Esener, Head of Department for
Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Turkey.
The
Commission was informed:
- on
follow-up to the
Opinion on the draft amendments to the law on the
State Prosecutor of
Montenegro;
- on follow-up to the
Opinion on the Draft Law on the Public Prosecutors
Office and on the Draft Law on the Council of
Public Prosecutors of "the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia";
- by
Mr Alexander Vashkevich, former Justice of the
Constitutional Court of Belarus
on the UNDP project for the Promotion of a
wider application of international human rights
standards In the administration of justice in
Belarus;
- on constitutional
developments in France;
- on
co-operation with the Union
of Arab Constitutional Courts and
Councils.
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"Tackling blasphemy,
insult and hatred in a democratic
society"
The publication, in addition to
the above report and annexes, contains the reports
which were presented at the International Round
table on "Art and sacred beliefs: from Collision
to Co-existence" (Athens, 31 January - 1 February
2008) and ECRI General Policy Recommendation No 7
on National Legislation to combat Racism and
Racial Discrimination.
The publication is available at
the Secretariat of the Venice Commission.
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"The participation of
minorities in public life"
Science and Technique of
democracy No45
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World Conference of Constitutional
Justice
The World Conference of
Constitutional Justice (Cape Town, 22-24
January 2009), organised by the
Constitutional Court of South Africa and the
Venice Commission, has met a very strong
interest with Constitutional Courts,
Constitutional Councils and Supreme Courts with
constitutional jurisdiction. So far more than 90
courts have registered and new registrations
come in every day. Due to the unexpectedly high
number of participants it was necessary to
shift the venue to the International Conference
Centre at Cape Town Waterfront.
In the organisation of this unique event,
which also takes place in the framework of the
60th anniversary of the Council of Europe, the
regional groups uniting the Courts, which
co-operate with the Venice Commission, have
played a mayor role . Their representatives have
met in three preparatory meetings for the
Conference in Vilnius, Seoul and Algiers.
The following groups
participate in the Conference:
- Asian Constitutional
Courts;
- Association of
Constitutional Courts using the French Language
(ACCPUF);
- Conference of
Constitutional Control Organs of Countries of
Young Democracy (CCCOCYD);
- Conference of European
Constitutional Courts (CECC);
- Ibero-American
Conference on Constitutional Justice
(CIJC);
- Southern African Judges
Commission (SAJC);
- Union of Arab
Constitutional Courts and Councils
(UACCC).
In addition, courts of
final appeal of the Commonwealth countries have
been invited to the World Conference. At the
Conference, the Venice Commission intends to
offer co-operation to these courts as well.
The
World Conference
web-site | |
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Democratic institutions
and human
rights |
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Blasphemy, religious insult and
incitement to religious
hatred
Mutual understanding
and acceptance is perhaps the main challenge of
modern societies. Diversity is undoubtedly an
asset; but cohabiting with people of different
backgrounds and ideas calls for a new ethic of
responsible intercultural relations, in Europe
and in the world. Unlike blasphemy, incitement
to hatred must be criminalised and prosecuted,
with no unjustified difference being made
between different groups. Democratic societies
instead must not become hostage of the excessive
sensitivities of certain individuals: it must be
possible to criticise religious ideas even if
such criticism may be perceived by some as
hurting their religious feelings. Fear of
violent reactions should not dictate
self-censorhip. But reasonable self-restraint
should be used if constructive debate is to
replace dialogues of the
deaf. |
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Bjelic v. Montenegro and Serbia
and Sejidic and Finci v. Bosnia and
Herzegovina
The Venice Commission
adopted two amicus curiae briefs in
proceedings pending before the European Court of
Human Rights.
The case of Bjelic
v. Montenegro and Serbia relates to a
fundamental problem in the constitutional
structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, directly
stemming from the Constitution: the exclusion of
the category of "the others" (those who do not
belong to the three constituent peoples: Serbs,
Croats, Bosniacs) from the elections to the
Presidency and to the House of Peoples of
BH. The Commission concluded that the
exclusion of the "others" from elections to both
the Presidency and the House of
Peoples violated the European Convention on
Human Rights and in particular Protocols
No. 1 and
12.
The case of Sejidic
and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina
raises two main issues: the succession of Serbia
and Montenegro to the treaty obligations of the
former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and
the liability of a successor state for the
wrongful acts of its predecessor. The Commission
considered that it would be unreasonable to hold
Serbia responsible for human rights violations
allegedly committed by the courts of the
Republic of Montenegro in the period between 3
March 2004 (date of the entry into force of the
European Convention on Human Rights in respect
of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro) and
6 June 2006 (date as of which the independent
State of Montenegro is a party to the
ECHR).
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Joint opinions with OSCE/ODIHR on
Kyrgyzstan
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Elections and
Referendums |
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Presidential elections in
Azerbaijan
In the framework
of the preparation of the presidential elections
in Azerbaijan which took place on 15 October
2008, the Venice
Commission:
- assisted
the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan on
legal and technical matters for a period of
three weeks, in the preparatory stage of
elections, notably in the field of electoral
disputes;
- organised
a training seminar for territorial election
commissions of Azerbaijan and two training
seminars on the new complaints and appeals
procedures for the members of the expert groups
created at the level of territorial electoral
commissions, in co-operation with the Central
Election Commission of Azerbaijan and
IFES;
- assisted
the Parliamentary Assembly delegation in charge
of electoral observation, as a legal
advisor. |
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Electoral laws of Armenia and
Moldova
In the opinion on the
electoral code of Armenia, the
Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR underlined
that improvements in legislation are still
recommended, in particular concerning electoral
disputes, inking of voters' fingers, a balanced
composition of election commissions and the
amount of the electoral deposit. However,
progress is needed above all in practice. Good
faith, combined with the exercise of political
will by all stakeholders, remains the key
challenge for the conduct of genuinely
democratic elections.
Concerning Moldova, the Commission and
OSCE/ODIHR noted that the Code as revised in
2008 includes some improvements, however
problems arise under other aspects, such as too
high a threshold, restrictions on double
nationals and the possibility to recall members
of the election
commissions. | |
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