Venice Commission To Approve UK Election Practice Overhaul

Constitutional experts from the Council of Europe are set to give their approval to an overhaul of the United Kingdom’s code of practice for election observers.

The Venice Commission will rubberstamp its positive assessment of the updated code at its meeting in Venice, Italy, on 18 December.

New Venice Commission Visit To Ukraine

Constitutional experts from the Council of Europe will visit Ukraine next week for more talks with the country’s authorities.


The Venice Commission’s team will examine the consequences of a decision by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine which declared unconstitutional the Law on Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine adopted on 8 December 2004 .

Constitutional Experts Visit Bulgaria

Constitutional experts from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission are scheduled to end a visit to Bulgaria today.


The visit, which began on 7 November, follows a request made last July by the Parliament of Bulgaria for a Venice Commission opinion on the new draft law on judicial power and amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Bulgaria.

Venice Commission: Concern At Criminal Case Against Kyrgyzstan Judges

Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, has sent a letter to the President of Kyrgyzstan Rosa Otunbaeva, expressing serious concern of the Venice Commission regarding the criminal case recently opened against several judges of the former Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan for decisions taken in the past.

The Commission expressed hope that the issue would be resolved according to the rule of law principles.

File: Venice Commission

Venice Commission President: Turkey Needs A New Constitution

A new constitution is needed in Turkey, according to Gianni Buquicchio the president of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.


“We in the Venice Commission have addressed specific constitutional issues in Turkey and have, in this context, expressed our preference for a new Constitution but we never had an opportunity to develop this argument in more detail,” he told the Istanbul  ‘Turkey in Europe’ conference earlier today.

Venice Commission Reacts To Ukraine's Judicial Changes

Legal experts from the Council of Europe's Venice Commission have delivered two opinions on planned changes to Ukraine's judicial system.

Issues and standards at stake

Among other issues, the opinions assess two main points:

the strongly reduced role of the Supreme Court as compared to the high specialised courts, including the new High Specialised Court in Civil and Criminal matters and

additional powers for the High Council of Justice, which exceed those provided for in the Constitution.

The composition of the High Council of Justice, as provided for in the Constitution, had been criticized in the past by the Commission (CDL-AD(2010)003).

Venice Commission: Al Qaeda Detainees 'Protected' By Geneva Conventions

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Heightened anxiety over the threat of terrorism in Europe should not lead to changes in the protection offered by the Geneva Conventions, Council of Europe legal experts have declared.

"The Geneva Conventions – regarding provisions for detention and treatment of persons - may date back to 1949 but they are still valid," said a spokeswoman for the Venice Commission.

The commission's declaration follows concern that the protection given to those who qualify as Prisoners of War (POWs) should be changed to meet the current international terrorist threat posed by al Qaeda.

Georgia: Experts Give Final Opinion On Constitutional Reform

At the request of the Georgian authorities, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission has delivered its view on the country's reform process.

The reform is intended to move Georgia from a strong presidential system to one in which the President is a more neutral figure and the executive is headed by a government responsible to parliament. The reform is supposed to provide for adequate checks and balances.


Conclusions

The constitutional reform places executive power is in the hands of the government which is accountable to the parliament. The President loses his role of leader of foreign and domestic policy and becomes [primarily] a guarantor of the continuity and national independence of the state and of the functioning of the democratic institutions.

His role is that of a neutral arbitrator between the state institutions. The proposed constitutional amendments provide for several important improvements and significant steps in the right direction, which the Venice Commission welcomes.

The Commission considers nevertheless that it would be desirable to further strengthen the powers of parliament. In this respect, the provisions on the formation of the government and especially those on the motion of non-confidence, as well as those about the parliament's powers in budget matters, should be reconsidered.

Venice Commission

Georgia, the Venice Commission and Hillary Clinton

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