“Old” and “new” problems of constitutionalism in the opinions and reports of the Venice Commission

In 2020 European Commission for Democracy through Law (better known as The Venice Commission) celebrates its 30^th anniversary. The article deals with the main stages of evolution of expert activities of the Commission especially after expanding the geography of its members (62 member states and several observes). From the very first days of its existence, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) has emphasized as a priority the effective functioning of democratic institutions through the implementation of the rule of law principles, especially in the field of constitutional law and the administration of justice. According to statistics of the Commission in 2019 were adopted 43 documents, from them 6 thematic compilations of previous opinions, 22 opinions, 5 opinions amicus curiae, 7 reports, 3 guides and comments. The subject matter of these documents is diverse: constitutional reforms – 2, state bodies – 4, constitutional justice and judicial system – 20, human rights – 10, other issues (elections etc) – 7. These data indicate an increasing variety of problems of expert activity of the Commission. Expert assessments of the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993 were among the first opinions of the Venice Commission. Subsequently, the Venice Commission several times addressed the issues of the Russian constitutional system, as well as constitutional system of other states. The VC Report on the Rule of Law (2011) and the VC Rule of Law (2016) are of great importance. Issues of the constitutional basis of the judiciary and its functioning are also priorities of the Venice Commission’s activity, especially in recent years, when relations between the judiciary and other branches of power have escalated in a number of European states. The article emphasizes that the 1993 Report on the independence of the judiciary and the role of the public prosecutors department is very important even now. The starting point of numerous VC opinions and reports in this area is to ensure the real independence of the judiciary and the judges themselves. In recent years the activity of the Venice Commission has noticeably revived in the field of electoral law and organization of elections. The agenda includes not only several issues related to electoral systems, but also such acute problems as political corruption and abuse of administrative resources.

About the authors: Anatoliy Kovler – Doctor of Sciences in Law, Professor, Head of Center, Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law; judge (in ret.) of the ECtHR; Substitute Member, Venice Commission, Moscow, Russia; Evgeniy Fokin – Research Fellow, Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law, Moscow, Russia.

Citation: Kovler A., Fokin E. (2020) “Starye” i “novye” problemy konstitutsionalizma v zaklyucheniyakh i dokladakh Venetsianskoy komissii [“Old” and “new” problems of constitutionalism in the opinions and reports of the Venice Commission]. Sravnitel'noe konstitutsionnoe obozrenie, vol.10, no.2, pp.15–32. (In Russian).

References

Chirkin S.V., Lebedeva Ya.I. (2018) Konstitutsiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii v otsenke Evropeyskoy komissii za demokratiyu cherez pravo [The Constitution of the Russian Federation as assessed by the European Commission for Democracy through Law]. Zhurnal zarubezhnogo zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'nogo pravovedeniya, no.6, pp.47–51. (In Russian).

Dedov D.I., Gadzhiev Kh.I., Cherenkova V.S. (2019) Pervoe konsul'tativnoe zaklyuchenie po Protokolu No.16 k Evropeyskoy Konventsii o zashchite prav cheloveka i osnovnykh svobod [First advisory opinion on Protocol No.16 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms]. Zhurnal zarubezhnogo zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'nogo pravovedeniya, no.5, pp.42–48. (In Russian).

Fokin E.A., Cherenkova V.S. (2018) Sudebnaya reforma v Pol'she: analiticheskiy obzor zaklyucheniya, prinyatogo Venetsianskoy komissiey na 113-m plenarnom zasedanii v otnoshenii Pol'shi [Judicial reform in Poland: analytical review of the conclusion adopted by the Venice Commission at the 113th plenary meeting regarding Poland]. Zhurnal zarubezhnogo zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'nogo pravovedeniya, no.2, pp.124–130. (In Russian).

Khabrieva T.Ya., Lafitskiy V.I. (ed.) (2014) Venetsianskaya komissiya: sto shagov za demokratiyu cherez pravo [Venice commission: one hundred steps to democracy through law], Moscow: Statut. (In Russian).

Khabrieva T.Ya. (ed.) (2016) Venetsianskaya komissiya: o konstitutsiyakh, konstitutsionnykh popravkakh i konstitutsionnom pravosudii [Venice Commission about the constitutions, constitutional amendments and constitutional justice], Moscow: Institut zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'­nogo pravovedeniya pri Pravitel'stve Rossiyskoy Federatsii. (In Russian).

Khabrieva T.Ya. (ed.) (2018) Venetsianskaya komissiya o problemakh pravosudiya v sovremennom mire [Venice Commission on challenges of justice in the modern world], Moscow: Institut zakonodatel'stva i sravni­tel'­nogo pravovedeniya pri Pravitel'stve Rossiyskoy Federatsii. (In Russian).

Khabrieva T.Ya. (2018) Venetsianskaya komissiya kak sub'ekt interpretatsii prava [The Venice Commission as a body for the interpretation of law], Moscow: Statut. (In Russian).

Morshchakova T.G. (2010) Verkhovenstvo prava i nezavisimost' sudebnoy vlasti [The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary]. Uchyonye zapiski yuridicheskogo fakul'teta Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta eko­nomiki i finansov, no.17, pp.5–14. (In Russian).

Vitruk N.V. (2018) Zapadnye yuristy o proekte Konstitutsii Rossiyskoy Fede­ratsii [Western lawyers on the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation]. Zhurnal zarubezhnogo zakonodatel'stva i sravnitel'nogo pravovedeniya, no.6, pp.52–55. (In Russian).