European commission for the democracy by the right

The European commission for the democracy by the right , also called commission of Venice , is a consultative body of the the Council of Europe aiming promoting the spirit of the constitutional Law of the European Union and at providing an assistance in this field to any State wishing to reform in this direction its laws and political institutions.

History

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the countries of the Europe of the East suddenly were in full democratic transition. Commission of Venice east then installation in May 1990 like an agreement partial signed by eighteen Member States of the Council of Europe, that with an aim of providing an assistance to these countries for the drafting of constitutions taking again the spirit as of those of the Member States of the EU.

Once the urgency passed, the commission of Venice was transformed into a body of reflection as regards constitutional law and aims at promoting the European constitutional inheritance. It publishes in particular three times per annum, and that since 1993, jurisprudences which are subjected to him by its Member States in the Bulletin of constitutional justice .

In February 2002, the partial agreement which was related to the widened Council of Europe and thus makes it possible in nonEuropean States to be Members of the Commission of Venice.

Activities

The commission of Venice operates in four fields:
  • constitutional assistance;
  • elections and referendums;
  • co-operation with the constitutional courts;
  • draftings of studies, reports/ratios and transnational seminars on the constitutional law.

Constitutional assistance

It is the initial activity of the commission. The purpose of it is to deliver an opinion on constitution projects or constitutional laws amending this fundamental law. The commission can also write constitutions. All its opinions are based on the criteria of the Member States of the EU.

The countries having been the subject of this assistance are in particular:

  • South Africa, assistance with the drafting of the Constitution of 1996;
  • Albania, assistance with the democratic transition as of 1991;
  • Belgium, opinion on convention-tallies on the protection of the national minorities, at the request of the Belgian federal Parlement;
  • Bosnia-Herzégovine, development and interpretation of the constitutional law following the ethnic conflict
  • Georgia, examination of an organic bill aiming to to amend the constitution géorgienne, at the request of the president of the Parliament of Georgia;
  • Luxembourg, examination of bills in 2002, at the request of the Prime Minister;
  • Moldavie, examination and council on the problem in Transnistrie;
  • Russia, examination of its constitution following its application to join with the Council of Europe;
  • Ukraine, examination of its constitution following its application to join with the Council of Europe.

Elections and referendums

Behavior of free elections and transparent being the base of any democratic political system, this aspect with fact the object of several work with many countries, like Albania, Moldavie and well of others still. It took part, as in Albania, with the drafting of electoral codes.

It also wrote an electoral matter Code of conduct and organizes training seminars within the framework of its missions of electoral assistance. A Database, Voted, was installation aiming at centralizing the electoral legislations of Member States of the Council of Europe but also of certain countries related to the commission of Venice.

Co-operation with the constitutional courts

As of 1992, the various constitutional courts related to the commission of Venice were comparison with an aim of exchanging ideas and information. All that is published three times per annum since January 1993 in the Bulletin of constitutional jurisprudence as in the database CODICES which contains, in addition to the Bulletin of constitutional jurisprudence , the full texts of constitutional jurisprudences in English and French mainly, but also in twenty-four other languages.

Studies, reports/ratios and seminars

Seminars “UniDem” are organized, aiming at providing think tank or the presentation of unquestionable aspect of the constitutional law. Since 2001, the “Unidem campus” was set up with an aim of training civils servant of several countries of Eastern Europe, then in full constitutional reforms.

Members

Member States

Associated Member State

Observant countries

Special statute

Reference

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