Recent and Current Events
Egypt - National Human Rights Council
25/02/2020 - 26/02/2020
Cairo - The Venice Commission in cooperation with the National Human Rights Council of Egypt organises a conference on “Open government”.
This is the first Conference ever organised together with the National Human Rights Council of Egypt.
General principles of open government, civic participation, the role of the judiciary, of the administration and of the Ombudsman are on the agenda.
Global Judicial Integrity Network - High Level Meeting
25/02/2020 - 27/02/2020
Doha, Qatar – The Venice Commission will participate in the High-level Meeting of the UN Global Judicial Integrity Network, organised with the assistance of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
23/02/2020 - 24/02/2020
The Venice Commission participated in the conference on "the protection of rights and freedoms by the Constitutional Council" on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Constitutional Council of Algeria.
20/02/2020 - 21/02/2020
Riga - In the framework of the preparation of the opinion on the recent amendments to the legislation on education in minority languages, the Venice Commission delegation will participate in a series of meetings in Riga on 20-21 February 2020.
The exchanges of views with the following interlocutors have been scheduled: the President of the Republic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Speaker of Parliament, the President of the Constitutional Court and other relevant authorities as well as the civil society including the representatives of the national minorities.
Thi... read more
19/02/2020 - 21/02/2020
Chisinau - The Venice Commission will participate in the International conference on “Constitutional justice and the society’s reaction: When the solutions of the Constitutional Courts are in disagreement with the majority opinion of the society”.
19/02/2020
On 17 February 2020 the Speaker of Parliament of the Republic of Armenia requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on draft amendments to the legislation concerning political parties.
13/02/2020 - 14/02/2020
Tirana - In the framework of the preparation of the opinion on the appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court, the Venice Commission delegation held a series of meetings in Tirana, on 13 and 14 February 2020.
This opinion will be discussed at the March 2020 Plenary session of the Commission (20-21 March 2020, Venice).
11/02/2020 - 12/02/2020
Bishkek - In the framework of the preparation of the opinion on the amendments to some legislative acts of the Kyrgyz Republic related to sanctions for violation of electoral legislation, the Venice Commission delegation participated in a series of meetings with the Kyrgyz authorities and national experts in Bishkek, on 11 - 12 February 2020.
This opinion is on the agenda of the March 2020 Plenary session of the Commission (20-21 March 2020, Venice).
10/02/2020 - 11/02/2020
Tirana - In the framework of the preparation of the opinion on the draft amendments to the Law no 97/2013 on the Audiovisual Media Service, the Venice Commission delegation participated in a series of meetings in Tirana, on 10 and 11 February 2020.
This opinion is on the agenda of the March 2020 Plenary session of the Commission (20-21 March 2020, Venice).
09/02/2020
Baku - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the of the early parliamentary elections held on 9 February 2020 in Azerbaijan.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
ROMANIA - request for opinion by PACE
07/02/2020
Strasbourg - At its meeting on 29 January 2020, the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly) decided to request an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft laws of Romania amending:
- Law No. 115/2015 on the Elections of the Authorities of the Local Public Administration,
- Law No. 215/2001 on Local Public Administration and
- Law No. 393/2004 on the Status of Local Elections.
07/02/2020
On 5 February 2020, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Fadei Nagacevschi, requested the Opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law on amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova as to the Supreme Council of Magistracy.
07/02/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - Today the Venice Commission published Issue 2019/2 of its e-Bulletin on Constitutional Case-Law, sharing the summaries of key judgments delivered by constitutional courts and courts with equivalent jurisdiction with the world-wide legal community.
06/02/2020
Rabat - The 5th coordination meeting of the UniDem project for the southern Mediterranean took place in Rabat of the 6th February 2020. This annual meeting gathers the national coordinators of the following partner countries: Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine* and Tunisia. The participants took stock of the 2019 UniDem Med seminars and discussed the priorities as regards the modernisation of the public administration in their respective countries. During the meeting the participants determined the topics, dates and venues of 2020 UniDem Med seminars.
The UniDem seminars were est... read more
06/02/2020 - 07/02/2020
Ankara - In the framework of the preparation of the opinion regarding the replacement of elected candidates and mayors, the Venice Commission delegation participated in a series of meetings in Ankara, on 6 and 7 February 2020.
This opinion will be discussed at the March 2020 Plenary session of the Commission (20-21 March 2020, Venice).
06/02/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg – On 22 January 2020 the government of the Kingdom of Belgium has generously allocated 1.000.000 Euros to the Venice Commission’s budget for the period of four years (2020-2023).
The funds are destined for the modernisation of the Commission’s database on the constitutional case law CODICES and the website as well as the preparation of opinions.
05/02/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - Today the Committee of Ministers has endorsed the Venice Commission's checklist aimed at ensuring that election winners uphold democratic practices.
The Checklist gives governments guidelines on how to maintain the checks and balances of democracy, no matter what kind of system is used in that country.
It follows a warning by the Commission, echoed by former Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland in his 2016 report, that some governments, on gaining power in an election, are trying to dismantle democratic safeguards, rushing... read more
05/02/2020
On 5 February 2020, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Fadei Nagacevschi, requested the Opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law on amending and supplementing the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.
03/02/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - "Following my statement of 29 October 2019, I remain preoccupied about the open conflict involving the Constitutional Court of Armenia. I share the concerns of the rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in this respect.
I would like to recall the recommendations made in the opinion of the Venice Commission adopted in October 2019 that any early retirement scheme at the Constitutional Court has to remain truly voluntary, exclude any undue political or personal pressure on the judges concerned and must be designed not to inf... read more
31/01/2020
The Supreme Court of Somalia joined the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, which now has 117 members.
30/01/2020
Strasbourg - Mr Michael Frendo, member of the Bureau of the Venice Commission, took part on behalf of the Commission in a hearing of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the topic «Countering ill democracies in Europe».
30/01/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - The President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio and the Commission’s Secretary, Director Thomas Markert met with a delegation of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine led by its President Oleksandr Tupytskyi.
30/01/2020
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - The Secretary of the Venice Commission, Director Thomas Markert met with the President of the Supreme Court of Ukraine Ms Valentyna Danishevska.
29/01/2020
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - President Buquicchio exchanged views with Mr Igor Dodon, President of the Republic of Moldova in the presence of Mr Fadei Nagacevschi, Minister of Justice, and Ambassador Ms Corina Calugaru, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Moldova to the Council of Europe. The Venice Commission’s Urgent Opinion on the Superior Council of Magistracy ( prepared jointly with the Directorate of Human Rights of the DG-I), the constitutional reform, the strategy for the judicial reform and the electoral legislation were discussed.
RUSSIAN FEDERATION – request for an opinion
29/01/2020
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the draft amendment to
the Constitution of the Russian Federation (as proposed by the President of the Russian Federation on 15 January 2020) according to which, international agreements and treaties, as well as decisions by international bodies may apply only to the extent that they do not entail restrictions on the rights and freedoms of people and citizens, and do not contradict the Constitution.
EU TAIEX Workshop on Political party financing
27/01/2020 - 28/01/2020
Sarajevo - A representative of the Venice Commission took part in the TAIEX Workshop on “Political party financing – experience so far and next steps”, organised by the European Commission in co-operation with Bosnia and Herzegovina Election Commission, which took place in Sarajevo on 27 and 28 January 2020.
22/01/2020
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - Today the Venice Commission made public the Urgent Joint Opinion on the draft amendments to the Law of the Republic of Moldova No. 947/196 on Superior Council of Magistracy. The request came from the Minister of Justice of Moldova.
21/01/2020
The President of Albania made a request for an opinion on the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court.
20/01/2020
The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly requested an opinion of the Venice Commission concerning the Albanian Law no. 97/2013 “on Audiovisual Media Service”.
09/01/2020 - 10/01/2020
On 2 January 2020 the Venice Commission received from the Marshal of the Senate of Poland, Mr Tomasz Grodzki, a request for an opinion on the amendments to the laws on the judiciary adopted by the Polish Sejm on 20 December 2019. These amendments are to be examined by the Senate at the upcoming January Session. For this reason the Bureau of the Venice Commission authorised the preparation of an urgent opinion by the rapporteurs.
A delegation of the Venice Commission visited Warsaw on 9 and 10 January 2020 and met with the requesting authority and other interlocutors.
Th... read more
30/12/2019
The Speaker of the Assembly of Albania made a request for an opinion on the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court.
23/12/2019
On 23 December 2019, the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Fadei Nagacevschi, requested the Opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law on amending the Law No. 947/1996 on Superior Council of Magistracy.
19/12/2019 - 20/12/2019
Chisinau - The President of the Venice Commission, accompanied by the Deputy Secretary of the Commission, paid a visit to Chisinau following the invitation of the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
The delegation held meetings and exchanged views with the Speaker of the Parliament, the Chair and the members of the Legal Committee on Appointments and Immunities of the Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice as well as the Superior Council of Magistrates, judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and other judges.
Turkey - Request for opinion - Congress
17/12/2019
Strasbourg – The Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the decisions regarding elected mayors taken after the 31 March 2019 elections in the south-east of Turkey.
17/12/2019
Tunis – the Venice Commission organised a seminar on 17 December 2019 in Tunis entitled "The budget and financial autonomy of the Tunisian independent bodies".
This meeting brought together representatives of independent bodies and was an opportunity to discuss certain questions relating to their financial autonomy and in particular the budgetary questions, in the light of new texts related to Tunisian independent bodies such as the Organic Budget Law adopted in 2019.
The preparation and adoption of the budget of the (constitutional and other) bodies was also examined, a... read more
12/12/2019
Palais des droits de l'homme, Strasbourg - On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the René Cassin Foundation - International Institute of Human Rights organised, with the support of the City of Strasbourg, a conference on "The state of the Rule of Law in Europe ". This event took place in Strasbourg in the premises of the European Court of Human Rights (Press Room) on 12 December 2019.
The purpose of this day, which was intended for a very wide audience, was the definition of the rule of law, the presentation of the normative framework and the setting up of a new monitoring and s... read more
12/12/2019 - 13/12/2019
Gammarth - The Commission organised in cooperation with the Administrative Tribunal of Tunisia, the German IRZ Foundation and the Arab Union of Administrative Justice an international symposium on "Administrative Justice and Electoral Disputes".
The President of the Venice Commission Mr Buquicchio addressed the participants during the first day of the colloquium.
The event took place in the framework of the Joint Council of Europe-European Union project “Improving the functioning, performance and access to justice in Tunisia (AP- JUST)”, funded by the EU and the Counci... read more
11/12/2019
Nicosia - The Venice Commission organised in cooperation with the Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights of Cyprus and the Association of Mediterranean Ombudsmen a conference entitled “The role of "the Venice Principles" in strengthening the ombudsman institutions".
06/12/2019 - 07/12/2019
Venice, Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
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