What is the Venice Commission?
The European Commission for Democracy through Law
- better known as the Venice Commission as it meets in Venice - is the
Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional matters.
The role of the Venice Commission is to provide legal advice to its member states and, in particular, to help states wishing to bring their legal and institutional structures into line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The role of the Venice Commission is to provide legal advice to its member states and, in particular, to help states wishing to bring their legal and institutional structures into line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
It also helps to ensure the dissemination and consolidation of a common constitutional heritage, playing a unique role in conflict management, and provides “emergency constitutional aid” to states in transition.
The Commission has 59 member states: the 47 Council of Europe member states, plus 12 other countries (Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and the USA). The European Commission and OSCE/ODIHR participate in the plenary sessions of the Commission.
The Commission has 59 member states: the 47 Council of Europe member states, plus 12 other countries (Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and the USA). The European Commission and OSCE/ODIHR participate in the plenary sessions of the Commission.
Its individual members
are university professors of public and international law, supreme and
constitutional court judges, members of national parliaments and a
number of civil servants. They are designated for four years by the member states, but act in their individual capacity. Gianni Buquicchio has been President of the Commission since December 2009.
The Commission works in three areas:
Its permanent secretariat is located in Strasbourg, France, at the headquarters of the Council of Europe. Its plenary sessions are held in Venice, Italy, at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, four times a year (March, June, October and December).
Key figures
May 1990:
• Established in by 18 Council of Europe Member States
2013:
• 59 member states, including 12 non-European members, with a total population of 1.5 billion people
• 6 observer countries and 1 associate member
• EU and OSCE – the two international partners participating in the work of the Commission
• 500 opinions on more than 50 countries and 80 studies
• 250 seminars and conferences with dozens of courts and universities
• Over 3,000 civil servants trained in human rights and administrative law
• the European Court of Human Rights has referred to Venice Commission opinions in more than 50 cases (since 2002).
The Commission’s activities
Opinions and studies
The Venice Commission’s primary task is to provide states with legal advice in the form of “legal opinions” on draft legislation or legislation already in force which is submitted to it for examination. It also produces studies and reports on topical issues.
Groups of members assisted by the secretariat prepare the draft
opinions and studies, which are then discussed and adopted at the
Committee’s plenary sessions.
A dialogue-based working method
The
Commission does not seek to impose the solutions set out in its
opinions. Rather, it adopts a non-directive approach based on dialogue
and shares member states’ experience and practices. For this reason, a
working group visits the country concerned to meet the various
stakeholders and to assess the situation as objectively as possible. The
authorities are also able to submit comments on the draft opinions to
the Commission. The opinions prepared are generally heeded by the
countries concerned.
International institutions, civil society and the media regularly refer to the Commission’s opinions.
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Who can request an opinion?
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Member states
• parliaments
• governments • heads of state |
Council of Europe
• Secretary General
• Committee of Ministers • Parliamentary Assembly • Congress of Local and Regional Authorities |
International organisations
• European Union
• OSCE/ODIHR • other international organisations involved in the Commission’s work |
Amicus curiae opinions
At the request of a constitutional court or the European Court of Human Rights, the Commission may also provide amicus curiae opinions,
not on the constitutionality of the act concerned, but on comparative
constitutional and international law issues. The Commission also
co-operates with ombudspersons through amicus ombud opinions mainly concerning the legislation that governs their work.
How an opinion is prepared?
Reference to the Commission of a (draft) constitutional or legislative text by a national or international body or the Council of Europe[2]
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Setting up of a working group of rapporteur
members and experts assisted by the secretariat
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Setting up of a working group of rapporteur
members and experts assisted by the secretariat
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Draft opinion on compliance of the text with international standards
and proposed improvements
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and proposed improvements
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Visit to the country
for talks with the authorities, civil society and other interested stakeholders
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for talks with the authorities, civil society and other interested stakeholders
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Final draft opinion
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Submission of the final draft opinion
to all members of the Commission before the plenary session
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to all members of the Commission before the plenary session
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Discussion of the draft opinion in a sub-commission and with the national authorities
(if necessary)
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(if necessary)
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Discussion and adoption of the opinion at plenary session
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Submission of the opinion to the body which requested it
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Conferences and seminars
As
the quality of democracy depends not only on the quality of laws, but
also on their implementation, the Commission holds seminars and
conferences in partnership with constitutional courts, parliaments,
central electoral commissions and universities.
Co-operation with countries beyond Europe
Without
losing sight of its objective in Europe, the Commission is increasingly
called upon to act outside the region. Through activities in all its
areas of responsibility in countries in the Maghreb, Central Asia and
Latin America, the Venice Commission has confirmed its reputation as an independent, impartial, competent and reliable partner of the authorities in the countries concerned and the various international organisations active in those regions.
1 Council of Europe has 47 member States: Albania,
Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, ”The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia”, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino,
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine,
United Kingdom.
[2] Request for opinion may be sent to the President or the Secretary of the Commission by email / fax / post.
Main reference texts of the Commission
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