Recent and Current Events
22/04/2021 - 23/04/2021
Berlin – The Venice Commission is invited to participate in the Conference of the Presidents of the Constitutional Courts of the Member States of the Council of Europe. The event is organised by the German Presidency of the Council of Europe (November – May 2021).
European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG) - 13th meeting
15/04/2021 - 16/04/2021
The Venice Commission will participate in the 13th meeting - via videoconference - of the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG). A representative of the Commission will present the Principles for a fundamental rights-compliant use of digital technologies in electoral processes, adopted in December 2021.
13/04/2021
The Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales and the Venice Commission organise a seminar to highlight the interaction between Spain and the Commission since the Commission’s origins, in Europe and in Latin America.
12/04/2021 - 13/04/2021
In the framework of the preparation of a joint Venice Commission – OSCE/ODIHR urgent opinion on the electoral reform in Georgia, the rapporteurs and experts met online with the representatives of the political parties and the Central Electoral Commission, as well as with of the civil society and international community present in Georgia.
At its 126th Plenary Session (online, 19-20 March 2021), the Venice Commission authorised the preparation of this urgent opinion to be issued prior to the next Plenary Session. This opinion is prepared under the Quick response Mechanism in the fra... read more
08/04/2021
On 1 April 2021, the Venice Commission’s Bureau authorised the preparation of an urgent opinion on the planned reform – either through an amendment of the Constitution or through a legislative amendment of the Interpretation Act - of fair trial requirements related to substantial administrative penalties in Malta.
This urgent opinion was requested on 29 March 2021 by the Minister of Justice of Malta.
The opinion will be published before the 127th Plenary Session.
08/04/2021
By letter dated 23 February 2021 the President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the “Law supplementing the Criminal Procedure Code” on the creation of special mechanism for investigation of the Prosecutor General or his/her deputy.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption at the 127th plenary session of the Commission.
08/04/2021 - 09/04/2021
In the framework of the preparation of a joint Venice Commission – OSCE/ODIHR urgent opinion on draft amendments to the Electoral Code and related legislation of Armenia, the rapporteurs and experts met online with the representatives of the following stakeholders:
• Prime Minister’s Office,
• Deputy Minister of Justice,
• Central Electoral Commission,
• Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly,
• political parties seated in parliament and extra-parliamentary parties, and
• Corruption Prevention Commission.
The... read more
07/04/2021
The Ombudsman of the Kingdom of Morocco, in cooperation with the Venice Commission, is organising an international webinar on "The UN Resolution of 16 December 2020 "The role of ombudsman institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights, good governance and the rule of law" - and the Council of Europe standards".
The aim of the webinar is to present the UN Resolution that established the Venice Principles as the new global standard for ombudsmen, as well as to present the Council of Europe's standards in this field.
07/04/2021
By letter dated 29 March 2021 the Minister of Justice Mr Stelian-Christian ION requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law for dismantling the Section for the Investigation of Offences committed within the Judiciary.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption at the 127th plenary session of the Commission.
07/04/2021
By letter dated 17 March 2021 the Human Rights Defender of Armenia requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the compatibility of the Armenian legislation related to the independence of the Ombudsman institution staff with the applicable international standards.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption at the 127th plenary session of the Commission.
06/04/2021
By letter dated 12 March 2021 the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mr Dmytro RAZUMKOV requested an urgent opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law amending provisions of the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the liability of public officials for inaccurate asset declaration (reg. No. 4651, of 27 January 2021).
At its 126th Plenary Session (online, 19-20 March 2021), the Venice Commission authorised the preparation of this urgent opinion to be issued prior to the next Plenary Session.
06/04/2021
The Venice Commission experts participated in the Donors’ Partners Coordination Council Working Group for Rule of Law and Human Rights for Kyrgyz Republic. Representatives of the Kyrgyz NGOs and national legal experts also attended the event.
Following a presentation of the Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and ODIHR on the Draft Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the rapporteurs of the Commission and ODIHR experts had an exchange of views with members of the Working Group and Kyrgyz participants on the constitutional reform process and up-coming referendum organized on 11 A... read more
05/04/2021 - 07/04/2021
Rabat and Fes - 6th Congress of the CCJA "Constitutional Courts and International Law".
31/03/2021 - 05/04/2021
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission will accompany the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary election scheduled on 4 April 2021 in Bulgaria.
The delegation will hold meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation will observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
31/03/2021
By letter dated 25 February 2021 the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Ms Khadija ARIB requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the rule of law in the Netherlands, i.e. on the legal protection of citizens, in particular under administrative law (including scope, legal protection, test of reasonableness and the role of the Council of State) and on the system of checks and balances in theory and practice, including the Houses of the States General and the judiciary.
26/03/2021
The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission are preparing jointly an opinion on the draft amendments to the Election Code of Georgia, following an urgent request for assistance by the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, Mr Archil TALAKVADZE, addressed to the OSCE/ODIHR on 9 March 2021.
26/03/2021
By letter dated 15 March 2021 the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of Republic of North Macedonia requested an opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law on gender equality.
The draft opinion will be submitted for adoption at the 127th plenary session of the Commission in July 2021.
26/03/2021
By letter dated 15 March 2021 the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mr Dmytro RAZUMKOV requested an urgent opinion of the Venice Commission on the draft law on amendments to some laws of Ukraine on the procedure for electing (appointing) members of the High Council of Justice and on the activities of disciplinary inspectors of the High Council of Justice.
20/03/2021
Strasbourg - The Bureau of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice held its 16th meeting online. The Bureau discussed inter alia the preparation of the 5th Congress to be held in Indonesia on 4-7 October 2022 on the theme “Constitutional Justice and Peace”.
18/03/2021 - 20/03/2021
Due to continued COVID-19 restrictions, the first plenary session 2021 of the Venice Commission took place virtually.
Several opinions were adopted including on the Citizens’ security law in Spain, on constitutional amendments and the procedure for their adoption in Russia, on the compatibility with European standards of criminal law provisions in Belarus used to prosecute peaceful demonstrators.
A joint opinion of the Venice Commission and Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe (DGI) on recent amendments in Georgia to the law on elect... read more