JUNE 2013 plenary session
All decisions of the June plenary
At its 95th plenary session on 14-15 March 2013, the Commission adopted opinions on inter alia :
- the draft law of Georgia on a Temporary State Commission on Miscarriages of Justice (prepared jointly with the Directorate for Justice and Human Dignity of the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI)),
- the Fourth Amendment to the Fundamental Law of Hungary,
- the balance of powers in the Constitution and the legislation of the Principality of Monaco,
- the Constitutional amendments on the Judiciary of Ukraine, on the law on referendum of Ukraine, and on draft amendments to the Electoral legislation of Ukraine (the joint opinion by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR),
- the draft law on civic work organisations of Egypt (interim opinion),
- the electoral legislation of Mexico,
- the law on the High Committee for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Tunisia (the joint opinion by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR),
- the issue of prohibition of so-called propaganda of homosexuality.
The Commission also held an exchange of views among others with:
- Mr Alexandre Baramidze, Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia,
- Mr János Martonyi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary,
- Mr José Badia, Government Councillor for External Relations of Monaco, with Mr Laurent Anselmi, Director General of the Legal Affairs Department of the Government, with Mr Philippe Narmino, Director of Judicial Services and with Mr Laurent Nouvion, President of the National Council of Monaco,
- Mr Ranko Krivokapic, Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, about progress in the reform of the constitutional provisions on the judiciary and, in view of the urgency, authorised the rapporteurs to send the draft opinion on the new draft constitutional amendments to the Montenegrin authorities, prior to its submission to the October 2013 Plenary Session,
- Mr Andriy Portnov, Adviser to the President of Ukraine, Mr Valeriy Pysarenko, Chairman of the Committee on Judicial Policy, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and with Ms Inna Yemelyanova, First Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine,
- Mr Khaled Al-Qazzaz, Secretary on Foreign Affairs to the President of Egypt
and was informed on follow-up inter alia to:
- the Opinion on the compatibility with human rights standards of the legislation on non-governmental organisations of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
- the Opinion on the practice of blanket resignation of Ministers in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- the joint opinion by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR on the election code of Bulgaria;
(read more)
Selected opinions
On 11 March 2013, the Parliament of Hungary adopted the Fourth Amendment (CDL-REF(2013)014) to the Fundamental Law (CDL-REF(2013)016 - consolidated version). The Venice Commission was requested to examine the Fourth Amendment from the point of view of its compatibility with Council of Europe standards - by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe - and with regard to international commitments that derive from Hungary's membership of the Council of Europe - by the Hungarian authorities.
The Commission is of the opinion that the Fourth Amendment perpetuates the problematic position of the President of the National Judicial Office, seriously undermines the possibilities of constitutional review in Hungary and endangers the constitutional system of checks and balances. Together with the en bloc use of cardinal laws to perpetuate choices made by the present majority, the Fourth Amendment is the result of an instrumental view of the Constitution as a political means of the governmental majority and is a sign of the abolition of the essential difference between constitution-making and ordinary politics.
By a letter dated 19 December 2012, the President of the Monitoring
Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe requested
the opinion of the Venice Commission on the Constitution of Monaco (CDL-REF(2013)021)
"in order to examine more in
particular the compatibility
with the democratic standards of the constitutional provisions concerning
the National Council, taking into account the specificities of Monaco."
The opinion focuses on the balance of the executive, legislative and
judiciary powers established by the Constitution and the legislation
of Monaco, in the light of European and international standards on democracy
and the rule of law and of the common constitutional heritage of the
European monarchies. As is the case for all Venice Commission opinions,
the legal analysis duly takes the specific features of the country concerned
into account.
(read the summary)
- So-called Propaganda of Homosexuality
By a letter dated 7 December 2012, the Chairman of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe requested an opinion on "the issue of the prohibition of so-called "propaganda of homosexuality" in the light of recent legislation in some Council of Europe Member States, including the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine
By a letter of 18 April 2013, the Venice Commission invited the authorities of the above-mentioned States to provide, if they so wished, any observation or additional elements of fact or law that they deemed relevant for the Commission's upcoming opinion. No observation was provided to the Venice Commission.
The provisions under consideration in this opinion are examples of a wider phenomenon manifested by attempts at both local and central level of government in several Council of Europe Member States, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, to introduce prohibition of "propaganda of homosexuality." They raise concerns as to whether the international standards safeguarding freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the principle of non-discrimination are met.
