AA17CR33ADD2

AS (2017) CR 33
Addendum 2

2017 ORDINARY SESSION

________________________

(Fourth part)

REPORT

Thirty-third sitting

Wednesday 11 October 2017 at 3.30 p.m.

Joint debate:

Venice Commission’s “Rule of Law Checklist”

New threats to the rule of law in Council of Europe member States: selected examples

The following texts were submitted for inclusion in the official report by members who were present in the Chamber but were prevented by lack of time from delivering them.

Mr LUPU (Republic of Moldova) – The report by Mr Fabritius is right to point out that the fight against corruption remains one of the major issues in the Republic of Moldova. However, to blame the current government – which has been in power for one and half years ­– for the situation is unfair and inaccurate. A recent poll has shown that the main issues considered critical by the people are related to the economic environment, while corruption has significantly decreased. It is my responsibility to address some of the criticism of measures taken by the government to ensure an effective and independent judiciary. We have adopted major laws to strengthen the fight against corruption.

I reject the tendency of those who, being the subject of criminal investigation, make accusations of political involvement and vendettas; politicians from all major parties have been targeted by prosecutors. In fact, anti-corruption cases increased by 18% last year, while crime has fallen by 20% so far this year.

Please note that the Republic of Moldova is not, and will never be, a captured or failed State. The Republic of Moldova is an independent State, a democracy with a very robust economic growth rate, an association agreement with the European Union and a memorandum with the International Monetary Fund.

We have launched an investigation of the banking fraud, which is being led by an international audit company. We want to find out the whole truth about what happened, even though some countries have not been very receptive to our requests. The agreement with the IMF is driven by the objective to strengthen our banking system and to make fraud impossible in future.

The new electoral law was widely debated before adoption; every political and social actor had the opportunity to contribute. The compromise satisfies the population's desire for change, which would be a mistake to ignore. We have offered clear answers to the concerns expressed by the Venice Commission. The electoral law comes together with an overhaul of the parties and campaign financing.

We believe that many of the critiques brought against the Republic of Moldova reflect a partial and subjective understanding. We would encourage a fact-based approach instead of one driven by statements of various stakeholders who have political affiliation. We are aware of the many challenges confronting our young democracy, but we remain determined in our pro-European path.

I would like to invite the authors of the report to reassess the situation and organise a new fact-finding mission in order to obtain a broader picture of the country.

Mr TILSON (Canada, Observer) – Today we live in a complicated world, with many challenges facing the international community. Yet, respect for the rule of law is a reference point that we can use to confront such challenges and work towards common understandings of commonly held values and basic human rights, despite what I recognise are often huge disparities in our geographies, cultural histories and legal systems.

Last week, our Canadian delegation was in Sofia, Bulgaria to build ties and come to a better understanding of that country, which will soon hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Bulgaria has faced many challenges in its recent history, and since joining the European Union, has been subject to a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, which monitors the country’s progress with respect to its commitments to fight corruption and organised crime and reform the judiciary.

Through my work with our Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association over the last 13 years, I have had the privilege of visiting most countries about to take on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.  Last week’s visit to Bulgaria was nevertheless inspiring as we learned how this country emerged from Communist rule to forge an important place for itself in the European Union.

It is still struggling with rule of law issues – levels of corruption are high and there are still concerns about judicial independence – but the government is committed to achieving its goals, even by the end of next year, and hopes soon to see the end of PACE’s post-monitoring dialogue and the European Union’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.

The rule of law is not a concept that nations such as ours can take for granted. We must be vigilant as parliamentarians to ensure that we maintain necessary checks and balances, with a healthy respect for the separation of powers and judicial independence. In Canada, this is a concept that we are constantly aware of.  As lawmakers, we work separately, but in “dialogue” with the courts, to ensure careful respect for human rights and our constitutional values.  That tension between the two branches of government is ever present.

I want to close by applauding Bulgaria’s efforts to meet its European Union and Council of Europe obligations. By working together as parliamentarians, we can help each other to uphold democratic values across our nations, holding each other accountable in our defence of the rule of law.

Mr TRUSKOLASKI (Poland) – For me and the Modern Party, which I represent, core elements of the rule of law mentioned in the Venice Commission’s report, such as legality, legal certainty, prohibition of arbitrariness, access to justice, respect for human rights, non-discrimination and equality before the law, are critical. The rule of law concept cannot exist without the other two founding principles of the Council of Europe: democracy and human rights.

With great satisfaction, we welcome the “Rule of Law Checklist”, a uniform benchmark for measuring compliance with the founding principles of the Council of Europe. The “Rule of Law Checklist” gives the Council of Europe a practical tool to measure respect for these principles in a transparent and fair manner. Finally, we can compare the situation in different countries in a uniform, objective way.

The Modern Party fully identifies with rule of law values, and we genuinely believe that it will always be fully respected and realised in our European community. Considering the above, we are deeply concerned about Mr Philippe Mahoux’s observations in the report, referring to concerns about the situation as regards the Constitutional Court in Poland. The Venice Commission found that Law and Justice Party actions regarding the independence of the Constitutional Court in Poland have compromised not only the rule of law but also the functioning of the democratic system. On behalf of the members of the Modern Party, with great sadness, I have to confirm the information from the report. In our opinion as well, the constitutional crisis in Poland raises serious issues regarding the rule of law.

We cannot agree to the independence of the judiciary and the guarantee of constitutional justice being undermined. We cannot accept the unconstitutional appointment of individual judges of the Constitutional Court, which threatens the credibility and the stability of the Polish legal system.

The Venice Commission concluded its opinion in these terms: “By prolonging the constitutional crisis, Parliament and the government have obstructed the Constitutional Tribunal, which cannot play its constitutional role as the guardian of democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”