Venice Commission: News

Tbilisi – As part of the preparation of the urgent opinion following the request from the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament regarding the selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges, a delegation from the Venice Commission will travel to Georgia.

The rapporteurs will exchange views with the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia and representatives of various fractions of the Georgian Parliament, the Public Defender, the Ministry of Justice, the High Council of Justice, the Supreme Court as well as hold meeting with the Georgian Bar Association, the Association of judges and… read more

Kiev – 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 Presidential elections held on 31 March 2019 in Ukraine.

The delegation will observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections.

During February-March 2019, a series of all-Ukrainian trainings for national judges on election dispute resolution took place in different cities of Ukraine:

– Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odessa.

During these trainings, 117 judges from 30 Ukrainian administrative courts of appeal and regional administrative courts discussed peculiarities of application of electoral legislation in resolution of election disputes in view of upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.

Throughout these trainings the judges examined the practical… read more

Council of Europe, Strasbourg – Today the Venice Commission published a set of guidelines to protect ombudsman institutions, following various threats to these institutions in recent years. Ombudsman institutions are important for democracy, their services are free, and are thus accessible to individuals who cannot afford to pursue their complaints through the courts. They can take action independently against maladministration and alleged violations of human rights and hence play a crucial role with regard to the governments and parliaments which must accept criticism. As an interface betwee… read more

  The Venice Principles

Brussels – The President and the Secretary of the Commission attended a hearing on the rule of law at the European Parliament organised by the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs (LIBE).

Strasbourg, Council of Europe – “The Venice Commission has received a request for an opinion from the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament regarding the appointment of Supreme Court judges. I welcome the willingness of the Georgian authorities to cooperate with us in order to establish clear and transparent criteria and procedures for the selection and appointment of these judges.

The Venice Commission will deal with this request speedily as it is conscious that it is urgent to have a full composition of the Supreme Court to ensure its effective functioning.

As concerns… read more

Council of Europe, Strasbourg – The President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio was invited to meet with the members of the EU Political and Security Committee. He gave a detailed picture of the Commission’s work in Europe and beyond, stressed the importance of the synergies between EU foreign policy and the Commission’s activities.

This Committee is a permanent EU body responsible for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The PSC is composed of member states’ ambassadors based in Brussels and is chaired by t… read more

Budapest – The Venice Commission was invited to participate in an international conference organised by the Constitutional Court of Hungary entitled “Constitutional EUdentity 2019: unity in diversity – common and particular values”.

The President and the Minister of Justice of Hungary, the President of the European Court of Justice, the presidents of the Constitutional Courts of Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Republic of Slovenia as well as the President of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and Vice President of the Italian Constitutional Court, addressed the Conferen… read more