18/03/2016
The Rule of Law is a topical theme. Far from being confined to the discussion of specialists, it has become a subject of political discussion and assessment. It is essential for these discussions and assessments to fully understand their subject. The Venice Commission did this by adopting the Rule of Law Checklist.
The Checklist aims at enabling an objective, thorough, transparent and equal assessment. Various actors wishing to assess the respect of the Rule of Law in a country now have therefore a reliable tool for doing so. This applies, for example, to parliaments and other State authorities, civil society and international organisations. The Checklist is intended for, in addition to the Council of Europe, in particular, the European Union, when it uses the mechanism provided for by Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union: prevention of the risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values common to the Member States and sanctioning of such breaches.