69th Plenary Session of the Commission (Venice)
15/12/2006 - 16/12/2006
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SESSION:
Discussion on the new Montenegrin Constitution - exchange of views with the Speaker of the Montenegrin parliament;
Adoption of studies on:
- non-citizens and minority rights and
- remedies for the excessive length of proceedings;
Adoption of opinions :
- on draft amendments to the Ombudsperson law of Armenia;
- on draft amendments to the Constitution and on the election code of Georgia and
- on the law on the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Switzerland - new members
11/12/2006
Appointment of Ms Gret HALLER as member and Ms Monique JAMETTI GREINER as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Switzerland.
“Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”– Request for opinion
08/12/2006
The Ministry of Justice of the “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” has requested the Commission’s opinion on the draft law amending the Electoral Code.
08/12/2006 - 09/12/2006
Riga, Hotel “Daugava” - On the occasion of the 10th jubilee of Latvia’s Constitutional Court, the Venice Commission, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia and the German Foundation for International Legal Co-operation (IRZ) organise a conference on the “Role of the Constitutional Court in the Protection of the Values Enshrined in the Constitution: Experience of the Last Decade and the Prospect for Development in Europe”.
The event will gather together the chairpersons of several constitutional courts, judges and legal experts to discuss the protection of individual ri... read more
Electoral matters – Electoral lists
07/12/2006 - 08/12/2006
Warsaw, OSCE/ODIHR - The Venice Commission takes part in the expert meeting on “Voter Registration and Election Observation”, a gathering of specialists from several governmental and non governmental international organisations. This meeting represents the first step in a process which should culminate in the issuance of Guidelines on Observation of Voter Registration.
Azerbaijan - Election Code
07/12/2006
Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe - Representatives of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Venice Commission, OSCE/ODIHR and IFES discuss possible amendments to the Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan - Consultation Meeting on Freedom of Assembly in Azerbaijan
06/12/2006 - 07/12/2006
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - Consultation meeting on Freedom of Association between the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan and the Venice Commission with the participation of the OSCE Baku Office.
05/12/2006 - 07/12/2006
Yaoundé - – Upon invitation by the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF), the Venice Commission presents its CODICES database in the meeting on “Collection, Management and Distribution of Law in the Francophone Space” organised by the Delegation for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights of OIF and the Secretariat general of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon.
Geogia - Constitutional Justice
02/12/2006 - 03/12/2006
Tbilisi - Seminar with the Constitutional Court on Communicating the Decisions of the Constitutional Court to the Public
Constitutional Justice - 4th Conference of Asian Constitutional Court Judges
30/11/2006 - 01/12/2006
Manila – The Commission participates in the 4th Conference of Asian Constitutional Court Judges on “Constitutional Jurisdiction between State, Culture and Religion – Striking the Right Balance“, organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
28/11/2006 - 29/11/2006
Lisbon - The Venice Commission organises in cooperation with the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe the Lisbon Forum 2006 on "Constitutionalism - the Key to Democracy, Human Rights and the Rule of Law".
Constitutional democracy today is recognised, more and more, as a transnational norm. The Lisbon Forum 2006 will facilitate the debate on the character and the evolution of the constitutional and political systems of the North and South in a context of globalisation.
The Forum will devote the discussions to the guarantees for the respect of the constitution by the br... read more
UniDem Campus Trieste Seminar "Freedom of association and freedom of assembly Sources, principles and proper implementation in practice (Trieste)
27/11/2006 - 30/11/2007
Southern African Judges Commission - study visit to Ireland
27/11/2006 - 01/12/2006
Dublin – Registrars of the Courts, members of the Southern African Judges Commission, participate in the study visit co-organised by the Venice Commission and the Courts Service of Ireland.
This activity takes place in the framework of the programme of cooperation with the Southern African Judges Commission funded by the Irish government.
International Seminar "Guarantees for the Independence of Constitutional Judges" (Bucharest)
23/11/2006 - 24/11/2006
23/11/2006 - 24/11/2006
Bucharest– The Venice Commission co-organises with the Constitutional Court of Romania a seminar on “Guarantees for the Independence of Constitutional Judges”.
Electoral matters – E-voting
23/11/2006 - 24/11/2006
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - The Venice Commission takes part in the meeting on the developments in the field of e-voting since the adoption of the Recommendation Rec(2004)11 of the Committee of Ministers on Legal, Operational and Technical Standards for E-voting.
Georgia – Assistance to the Central Electoral Commission
20/11/2006 - 23/11/2006
Tbilisi - At the request of the Central Electoral Commission of Georgia (CEC), the Venice Commission puts Ms Lidija Korač, Bosnia-Herzegovina, an expert in electoral law, at the CEC’s disposal. Ms Korač assists the electoral administration notably on strengthening the independence of the CEC and on strategic planning for the upcoming Parliamentary and Presidential elections.
Kazakhstan - visit of a delegation of the Venice Commission
16/11/2006 - 18/11/2006
Alma-Ata - Astana - On the invitation of the Kazakh authorities a delegation of the Venice Commission meets the representatives of different authorities in order to discuss the future co-operation between the Commission and Kazakhstan. This visit is carried out in co-operation with the mission of the European Commission to Kazakhstan.
13/11/2006 - 15/11/2006
Paris – The Venice Commission participates in the 4th Congress of ACCPUF on the topic “The jurisdiction of Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies”. The Commission presents its CODICES database, to which the member courts of ACCPUF contribute.
Seminar on "Interrelations between the Constitutional Court and Ordinary Courts" (Baku)
09/11/2006 - 10/11/2006
30/10/2006 - 01/11/2006
Kyev - A representative of the Venice Commission took part in the Conference on the March 2006 legislative elections organised by the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine in co-operation with OSCE mission to Kiev and USAID. Among other issues it was agreed that there was a need to elaborate a single Election Code.
More than 150 participants including parliamentarians, members of the electoral commissions, local authorities, civil servants, representatives of the civil society and delegates from the Electoral management bodies from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Mexico, ... read more
26/10/2006 - 28/10/2006
Moscow, "President Hotel" - the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Moscow Institute for Public Law and Policy and the Venice Commission organise a multilateral Conference on the “Common legal space of Europe and practice of constitutional justice”.
This event takes place in the framework of the Russian Chairmanship of the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
25/10/2006 - 27/10/2006
Santiago de Chile - The Venice Commission participates in the 5th Ibero-American Conference on Constitutional Justice (CIJC). The Commission invited the member courts of CIJC to contribute to the CODICES database.
13/10/2006 - 14/10/2006
Two texts of general scope are on the agenda of the October 2006 session:
- its new Guidelines on referendums drafted following a request by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - these Guidelines summarise common European standards to be applied in the field of referendums. Based on the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters the Guidelines take account of the specific features of referendums, in particular the content of texts to be submitted to the people’s vote. Following their adoption by the Venice Commission the Guidelines will be submitted for approval to... read more
“Learning Europe – Continuous training in EU matters” - international conference
13/10/2006 - 14/10/2006
Brijuni (Croatia) - a conference entitled “Learning Europe – Continuous training in EU matters” takes place upon the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Croatia and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. In this context, the Venice Commission presents its Programme "UniDem Campus Trieste", which has been launched in 2001 within the Stability Pact for South-East Europe and provides legal training for civil servants from the countries of the region".
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – Request for opinion
10/10/2006
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has requested the Commission's opinion on "the extent to which video surveillance is compatible with human rights ".
The draft opinion is planned to be adopted at the 74th plenary session.
UniDem Campus Trieste Seminar "Management of Irregular Migration in Europe and Strategies to Combat Trafficiking in Human Beings" (Trieste)
09/10/2006 - 12/10/2006
06/10/2006 - 07/10/2006
Yerevan – the Constitutional Court of Armenia held its XIth International Conference, organised in co-operation with the Venice Commission. The topic of this year’s conference was: “The role of constitutional courts in ensuring genuine elections”.
On this occasion, four rapporteurs intervened on behalf of the Venice Commission, essentially on electoral disputes:
- Ms Barbara Jouan, the Legal Department of the French Commission monitoring political parties and candidates in their electoral campaign expenses,
- Ms Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt, Member of the French Constitu... read more
03/10/2006 - 05/10/2006
Tbilisi - At the request of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE), a member of the Venice Commission and a member of the secretariat have provided legal assistance to the observation mission of the CLRAE at the occasion of the local elections in Georgia, held on 5 October 2006.
General elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina
01/10/2006
Sarajevo - In the framework of the agreement with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of the Venice Commission take part in the election observation mission as legal advisors to the Ad-hoc Committee on observation of the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the briefings for observers an expert of the Venice Commission informs the members of the Ad-hoc Committee on the legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning the organisation of elections.
Electoral issues – CIS Convention – request by the Secretary General
28/09/2006
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe has requested the Venice Commission to prepare an expertise on the Convention on standards for democratic elections, electoral rights and freedoms in member States of the Community of Independent States.
Armenia – electoral issues
27/09/2006 - 28/09/2006
Yerevan – In the framework of the current electoral reform process, the Venice Commission was invited by the Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia Mr Tigran Tororsyan to participate in a meeting to discuss amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia.
The main objective of this meeting was to have an exchange of views on possible ways to implement the latest joint OSCE-ODIHR/Venice Commission opinion (CDL-AD(2006)026).
"Bauer Lecture" on extraordinary renditions
25/09/2006
New York - Mr Olivier DUTHEILLET de LAMOTHE, Substitute member of the Venice Commission in respect of France, member of the Constitutional Council of France, was selected by the Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University (New York) as a Bauer Distinguished Visitor Speaker.
Mr DUTHEILLET de LAMOTHE has given a lecture entitled “Extraordinary renditions – a European perspective”.
22/09/2006 - 23/09/2006
Chisinau – Upon the initiative of the President of the Constitutional Court of Moldova, the Venice Commission and the Court hold a conference on the “Sovereignty and State Structure in Pluri-ethnic States”.
Azerbaijan - Round Table on the Freedom of Assembly
19/09/2006
The Government of the Azerbaijan has requested the the Venice Commission to give a legal opinion on the 1998 Law on freedom of Assembly. In this context, the Venice Commission participates in a Round Table on the Freedom of Assembly in Azerbaijan on 19 September 2006. This event, which is organised by the OSCE Office in Baku, offers an opportunity to review the relevant legislation and its implementation in practice, in the light of the last parliamentary elections.
Armenia – Electoral issues - Request for an amicus curiae opinion
19/09/2006
The Constitutional Court of Armenia has requested the Venice Commission for an amicus curiae opinion on the compatibility of the participation of judges in the electoral commissions with international standards.
Armenia – Political parties - Request for an amicus curiae opinion
19/09/2006
The Constitutional Court of Armenia has requested the Venice Commission for an amicus curiae opinion on the constitutionality of the provisions of the law on political parties, according to which the political parties are dissolved if they do not participate in the parliamentary elections twice or in the case of their participation gain less than one per cent of votes.
Elections et referendums - Roundtable on the Draft Law on the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns
11/09/2006
Zagreb, Parliament of Croatia - The Venice Commission is invited to participate in a round table on the Draft Law on the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns co-organised by the Central State Administration Office, the OSCE Mission to Croatia, Transparency International Croatia (TIH) and GONG.
Following this exchange of views the Venice Commission in co-operation with OSCE/ODIHR will prepare an opinion on the text of the draft law. The Prime Minister of Croatia, Dr. Ivo Sanader, participates in the roundtable.
Parliamentary elections in Montenegro
07/09/2006 - 12/09/2006
Podgorica - In the framework of the agreement between the Venice Commission and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of the Venice Commission took part in the election observation mission as legal advisors to the Ad-hoc Committee on observation of the Parliamentary elections in Montenegro.
At the briefings of observers, Mr Peter Paczolay, Member of the Venice Commission, Hungary, and Mr Gaël Martin-Micallef, from the Secretariat, informed the members of the Ad-hoc Committee on Montenegrin legislation on the organisation of parliamentary elections.
07/09/2006
Vilnius/Lithuania – The Venice Commission participates in the preparatory meeting for the XIVth Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts
31/08/2006 - 02/09/2006
Riga/Jurmala (Latvia) - The Venice Commission’s secretariat takes part in the 15th Anniversary General Assembly Meeting and Conference of the ACEEEO (Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials), which addresses in particular the issues of National Referendum – Technical and Legal Aspects, and of E-voting and E-democracy.
10/08/2006 - 11/08/2006
Maputo/Mozambique – The Venice Commission co-organises with the Supreme Court of Mozambique the Meeting of the Southern African Judges Commission on “Independence and Autonomy of the Courts / the Balance between National Security and Human Rights”.
Elections and referendums
12/07/2006
Brussels - the Venice Commission takes part in the OSCE Chairmanship Conference entitled “Building Democracy through OSCE Electoral Assistance and Observation”
Ukraine - request for opinion
05/07/2006
The Minister of Justice has requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the draft law on freedom of religion.
Annual “Tripartite-Plus” Meeting between the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the UN and partner organisations
04/07/2006 - 05/07/2006
Geneva – The topic of this year’s Tripartite meeting was: “Peace building from a European regional perspective: avoiding the recurrence of conflict”.
The Venice Commission was represented by a member of the Secretariat. The participants were informed about the activities of the Venice Commission notably in the field of electoral matters.
Constitutional reform - Kyrgyzstan
04/07/2006 - 05/07/2006
Bishkek – Upon the invitation by the Kyrgyz authorities, a Venice Commission delegation discussed the planned constitutional reform with the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Head of the Presidential Administration as well as with members of the Working Group and representatives of NGOs. The delegation also met with representatives of the international community in Bishkek.
UniDem Campus Trieste 1st Summer School "European Integration -
Constitutional and Legal Reforms" (Trieste & Graz)
04/07/2006 - 14/07/2006
Iceland - members
04/07/2006
Reappointment of Mr Hjörtur TORFASON as member and Ms Herdis THORDEIRSDÓTTIR as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Iceland.
Germany - new members
02/07/2006
Appointment of Mr Georg NOLTE as member, and of Ms Angelika NUSSBERGER as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Germany
Constitutional Justice - Bulgaria
30/06/2006 - 01/07/2006
Sofia – the Venice Commission participates in the Conference on "The Constitutional Court in a Democratic State" organised by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria at the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Court.
Ukraine - request for opinion
30/06/2006
The Minister of Justice has requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the draft law on the Cabinet of Ministers.
Ukraine - request for opinion
30/06/2006
The Minister of Justice has requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the draft law on the Cabinet of Ministers.
5th Meeting of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice Mini Conference on "Gender Equality" (Budapest)
17/06/2006 - 17/06/2006
Round Table on "Non-citizens and Minority Rights" (Geneva)
16 June 2006
16/06/2006 - 16/06/2006
Constitutional Justice
15/06/2006 - 16/06/2006
Budapest - 5th meeting of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice with ‘mini-conference’ on Gender Equality
Azerbaijan – request for opinion
14/06/2006
The Office of the President has requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the 1998 law on freedom of assembly.
09/06/2006 - 10/06/2006
The Speaker of the parliament of Montenegro Mr Krivokapich participated in the plenary and informed the Commission on the possibilities of future cooperation in view of the preparation of the new Constitution for Montenegro following the referendum on the independence.
With respect to the “Draft Law of Georgia on the compensation and restitution of property of victims of the conflict in the former autonomous region of South Ossetia“, the Commission exchanged views with the Georgian authorities and adopted its opinion on the latest version of the draft law.
The draft le... read more
Ukraine - request for opinion
02/06/2006
The Minister of Justice has requested the Venice Commission’s opinion on the draft law on peaceful assemblies.
Review by the constitutional courts of proceedings before ordinary courts applying community law (Kosice)
01/06/2006 - 02/06/2006
Constitutional Justice – Slovakia
01/06/2006 - 02/06/2006
Kosiče – In co-operation with the Slovak Constitutional Court, the Venice Commission organises a seminar on the “Constitutionality of the proceedings before ordinary courts applying the Community Law in practice of the Constitutional Courts”
Constitutional justice - international seminar in Slovakia
01/06/2006 - 02/06/2006
Kosice – In co-operation with the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, the Venice Commission organises a seminar on the “Review by the Constitutional courts of proceedings before ordinary courts applying community law”. Representatives of old and newly established constitutional courts will exchange their views and experience in this field.
Albania - new member
01/06/2006
Beginnig of the mandate of Mr Ledi BIANKU as member of the Commission in respect of Albania
Romania - new members
23/05/2006
Beginning of the mandate of Mr Bogdan AURESCU as member and Mr Lucian MIHAI as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Romania.
22/05/2006 - 23/05/2006
Moscow, Central Election Commission - The Third European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies on the “Development and codification of international standards in the field of elections” is organised by the Venice Commission in co-operation with the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation.
The issues to be addressed during the conference include:
- the development of electoral standards by international organisations and their implementation in different Council of Europe member States,
- the impact of new technologies on electoral process,
- th... read more
Self-determination referendum in Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro
19/05/2006 - 22/05/2006
Podgorica - In the framework of the agreement with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, representatives of the Venice Commission take part in the referendum observation mission as legal advisors to the Ad-hoc Committee on observation of the self-determination referendum in Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro.
At the briefings of observers an expert of the Venice Commission will inform the members of the Ad-hoc Committee on the legislation in Montenegro concerning the organisation of referendums.
15/05/2006 - 16/05/2006
Skopje, Holiday Inn Hotel - The Venice Commission takes part in a Round Table on “the new Electoral Code and the relevant legislation in view of upcoming elections”, organised by the Programme against corruption and organised crime in South-Eastern Europe (PACO; Legal Affairs Directorate of the Council of Europe) and the Venice Commission, in co-operation with the State Election Commission of the “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
The Venice Commission expert intervenes mainly on: the new provisions of the Electoral code; the main rules on financing of political parties a... read more
Moldova – electoral issues
11/05/2006 - 12/05/2006
Chisinau, Hotel “Codru” - The Venice Commission takes part in an international conference on “Election systems and proceedings – International practice”, organised by the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova.
The Venice Commission expert intervenes on voters' registration, supplementary voters’ lists and on residence requirements for voters.
Ireland - members
10/05/2006
Reappointment of Ms Finola FLANAGAN as member and Mr James HAMILTON as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Ireland.
Italy - members
10/05/2006
Reappointment of Mr Antonio LA PERGOLA as member and Mr Segio BARTOLE as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Italy.
San Marino - membres
10/05/2006
Reappointment of Mr Piero GUALTIERI as member and Ms Barbara REFFI as substitute member of the Commission in respect of San Marino.
Azerbaijan – Request for cooperation activities in electoral matters
05/05/2006
The authorities of Azerbaijan requests the Venice Commission to resume co-operation on the improvement of the electoral legislation and practice in Azerbaijan. The proposals include the work on the further improvement of the Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and of legislation related to the freedom of assembly.
Annual address by the Venice Commission to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
03/05/2006
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - Hugo Mifsud Bonnici, Vice President of the Venice Commission, addresses the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Mr Mifsud Bonnici presents the activities conducted by the Commission in 2005.
UniDem Campus Trieste Seminar "Concerted efforts at the European Level to fight corruption" (Trieste)
02/05/2006 - 05/05/2006
28/04/2006
Baku - The Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Political Affairs of the Council of Europe organise a Round table on the “Results of the 6 November 2005 elections and perspectives of co-operation in the field of electoral legislation and practice”.
The main objective of this activity that involves representatives of Milli Majlis, the Presidential administration, the Central Electoral Commission of Azerbaijan and other institutions is to have an exchange of views on possible ways to improve the electoral practice for the 13 May by-elections and on future co-operation be... read more
Belarus – Request for opinion
11/04/2006
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe invites the Venice Commission to make suggestions on how to amend the Belarusian Electoral Code, with particular reference to the issues of the role of independent observers, the composition of the electoral commissions and the practice of early voting. If necessary the Commission may liaise with the appropriate Belarusian authorities.
Constitutional justice – European Law
10/04/2006 - 11/04/2006
Budapest – In co-operation with the Constitutional Court of Hungary, the Venice Commission organises a Round Table on the “Relationship between Constitutional Law and European Law in the Member States of the European Union”.
The focus is on data protection issues based on the discussion of concrete cases. Representatives of the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, Constitutional courts and courts of equivalent jurisdictions in the European Union exchange their views and experience in the field of data protection.
07/04/2006
The Venice Commission expresses its satisfaction at the establishment by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) of a Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, which the Commission recommended in its opinion on “Human Rights in Kosovo: Possible Establishment of a Human Rights Mechanism” (link below).
Any person in Kosovo who claims that his or her fundamental rights have been violated by UNMIK will from now on be able to apply, after exhaustion of domestic remedies, to this Advisory Panel, which will express an opinion as to whether or not UNMIK has committed a human rights breac... read more
03/04/2006 - 03/04/2006
The Venice Commission is organising in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of Romania a Conference on « Remedies for unduly lengthy proceedings : a new approach to the obligations of Council of Europe member states ».
The Conference will give an opportunity to present an analysis of an assessment and the perspectives of lengthy proceedings at the level of the European Court’s case-law, the Committee of Ministers , the CEPEJ’s activities as well as at the level of the legislation and judicial practice in Romania.
The Venice Commission will also present its innovative... read more
30/03/2006 - 01/04/2006
Vladikavkaz - In the framework of the preparation of the Venice Commission's follow up opinion on the Georgian draft law on the rehabilitation and restitution of property of the victims of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict, the Secretariat of the Venice Commission participated in the round table on “Compensation, restitution and restoration of rights for the victims of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict”. This event was organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based international research NGO.
The event, held under Chatham House rules, was attended ... read more
Armenia – Request for opinion
28/03/2006
The Chairperson of the National Assembly of Armenia has requested the Venice Commission and
the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to deliver a joint opinion on draft amendments to the Electoral Code.
Parliamentary elections in Ukraine
24/03/2006 - 27/03/2006
Kiev - In the framework of its agreement with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe the representatives of the Venice Commission took part in the election observation mission as legal advisors to the Ad-hoc Committee on observation of parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
At the briefings of observers an expert of the Venice Commission informred the members of the Ad-hoc Committee on the Venice Commission's opinion on the Law on the elections of the people's deputies of Ukraine (CDL-AD(2006)002rev) and the latest legal developments in Ukraine in the field of elections.
Opinion on secret detentions and inter-state transport of prisoners
22/03/2006
Strasbourg - the Venice Commission publishes its opinion on the international legal obligations of Council of Europe member states in respect of secret detentions and inter-state transport of prisoners.
The opinion was adopted at the Commission’s 66th plenary session on 17 March 2006.
17/03/2006 - 18/03/2006
Secret detentions and transport of prisoners, election of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina, property restitution to the victims of the South Ossetian conflict – the legal aspects of these issues were on the agenda of the 66th plenary session of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe held on 17 and 18 March in Venice (Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista).
The Venice Commission adopted an opinion on the international legal obligations of Council of Europe member States in respect of secret detentions and inter-state transport of prisoners. This opinion, requested by... read more
Meetings of the SAJC: Exchange of views with the Venice Commission
Exchange of views with the European Court of Human Rights Working meeting of the SAJC (Venice, Strasbourg)
17/03/2006 - 20/03/2006
15/03/2006 - 17/03/2006
Paris – A Delegation of the Central Election Commission of Georgia visits Paris from 15 to 17 March 2006 in order to study the functioning of voters’ lists in France, at national and municipal levels.
Bosnia-Herzegovina - request for opinion
06/03/2006
The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina asked the Venice Commission on 2 March 2006 to provide an opinion on three different proposals for the election of the Presidency of the country. The opinion was asked for as a matter of urgency since this issue has to be resolved in order to reach overall agreement on constitutional reform. A draft Opinion under the responsibility of the rapporteurs will be sent to the Presidency on 7 March 2006. The draft will then be presented to the Commission at its forthcoming plenary session on 17 to 18 March 2006.
Slovenia - new substitute member
01/03/2006
Beginning of the mandate of Mr Miha POGAČNIK as substitute member of the Commission in respect of Slovenia.
Slovenia - member
01/03/2006
Reappointment of Mr Peter JAMBREK as member of the Commission in respect of Slovenia
The pre-conditions for a democratic election
17/02/2006 - 18/02/2006
Bucharest - In the framework of the Romanian chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, and in co-operation with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Venice Commission organises a seminar on the pre-conditions for a democratic election, which deals inter alia with respect for fundamental rights, access to media and financing or the electoral campaign.
Constitutional Justice and Elections – Georgia
10/02/2006 - 11/02/2006
Tbilisi – The Constitutional Court of Georgia and the Commission hold a seminar on the “Protection of the electoral rights and the right of political association by the Constitutional Court”
08/02/2006 - 09/02/2006
Tbilisi, Parliament - Mr Pierre Garrone, Head of the Elections and Referendums Division of the Secretariat of the Venice Commission, participated in the National workshop on the decentralization strategy of Georgia, which took place in the Parliament of Georgia, on 8-9 February 2006.
The workshop falls within the framework of the current electoral reform in Georgia.
Around 30 participants attended this workshop, inter alia, members of Parliament, representatives of the government, the Central Election Commission, non governmental organisations, as well as the international co... read more
08/02/2006 - 09/02/2006
Tbilisi - A delegation of the Venice Commission visits Georgia in view of the opinion on the Draft Law on Rehabilitation and Restitution of Property of Victims of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict.
UniDem Campus Trieste Seminar "Positive Discrimination and Access to Civil Service" (Trieste)
06/02/2006 - 09/02/2006
5th Meeting of the National Co-ordinators of UniDem Campus (Trieste)
20/01/2006 - 20/01/2006
Mexico - new observer
20/01/2006
Appointment of Mr María AMPARO CASAR PÉREZ as a new observer at the Commission in respect of Mexico
Secret detention centres and irregular transfer of prisoners - Request by PACE for an opinion
16/01/2006
The Venice Commission is to prepare an opinion on the legality of secret detention centres and on the legal obligations of Council of Europe member States in respect of the transport of prisoners by other States through their territory. The Commission is expected to adopt its opinion at the next plenary session on 17-18 March 2006 in Venice.
This request for opinion, dated 15.12.2005, comes in the framework of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly inquiry into alleged CIA detention centres in Europe.
13/01/2006
Following a request from the Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova, Mr Marian Lupu, to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission was asked to provide its opinion on the revised Law on the Information and Security (Intelligence) Service.
This Law, already adopted in 1999, was substantially amended by Parliament on 22 July 2005.
The expertise will be carried out jointly with an expert designated by the Directorate General of Legal affairs.
The Venice Commission is due to adopt its opinion at its 66th session to take place on 17-18 M... read more