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Resolution 2187 (2017)
Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Checklist
1. The Parliamentary Assembly congratulates
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission),
which for almost thirty years now has been doing remarkable work
in the fields of constitutional law, the functioning of democratic
institutions, fundamental rights, electoral law and constitutional justice,
and has played a decisive role in the adoption and implementation
of constitutions that are true to Europe’s constitutional heritage.
The Assembly works in close co-operation with the Venice Commission, regularly
consulting it for opinions, the quality and authority of which make
a major contribution to the Assembly’s work.
2. The Assembly reiterates its steadfast commitment to the three
founding principles of the Council of Europe: human rights, democracy
and the rule of law. In its Resolution
1594 (2007) on the principle of the Rule of Law, it invited
the Venice Commission to reflect in depth on the concepts of “rule
of law” and “prééminence du droit”. The Assembly welcomes the practical
follow-up given to that initiative by the Venice Commission, which
found – beyond the question of a formal definition – that there
was a consensus as to the core elements covered by the terms “rule
of law”, “Rechtsstaat” and “État de droit”, namely: legality, legal
certainty, the prohibition of arbitrariness, access to justice,
respect for human rights, non-discrimination and equality before the
law.
3. The Assembly welcomes the Rule of Law Checklist, which helps
to introduce a new, uniform benchmark for measuring compliance with
one of the founding principles of the Council of Europe. The Assembly
is pleased that the Committee of Ministers and the Congress of Local
and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe have already endorsed
it. The Rule of Law Checklist is based largely on the standards
developed by the Council of Europe, making them accessible and functional,
enabling respect for the rule of law to be measured in a detailed,
objective, transparent and fair manner.
4. It is a most relevant and valuable monitoring and prevention
instrument to identify and analyse situations of concern. Regular
and systematic use of the Rule of Law Checklist makes it possible
to analyse the situation in different countries in a uniform, objective
manner. Indeed, applying it to certain member States, the Assembly
notes that there are serious threats to the rule of law in Council
of Europe member States. Where the findings of an analysis using
the Rule of Law Checklist give rise to concerns, it should trigger
a firm reaction on the part of all those involved in promoting and
strengthening the principles of the rule of law.
5. Indeed, the Assembly views the Venice Commission’s Rule of
Law Checklist as a practical tool not only for the Council of Europe
but also for other national and international stakeholders, be they
national or local State institutions, other international organisations
or civil society.
6. The Assembly decides to:
6.1. endorse
the Venice Commission’s Rule of Law Checklist;
6.2. use it systematically in its work, particularly in the
preparation of reports of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights and the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by
Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee), in
order to accurately identify any structural and systemic problems
in the Council of Europe’s member States;
6.3. invite the national parliaments and government bodies,
including the relevant ministries, when assessing the need for and
the content of legislative reform, to refer systematically to the
Rule of Law Checklist;
6.4. invite international or regional organisations, including
the Council of Europe as a whole and the European Union, to refer
regularly to the Rule of Law Checklist in their relevant work. In
this connection, the Assembly congratulates the Secretary General
of the Council of Europe on having taken the Rule of Law Checklist
into account in his 2017 annual report, The
state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe,
and urges him to do so systematically in all his future annual reports;
6.5. encourage civil society to use the Rule of Law Checklist
to objectively assess respect for the rule of law.
7. The Assembly also calls on all the member and observer States
of the Venice Commission to play an active part in its work and
co-operate with it in defending and promoting the rule of law in
a spirit of constructive dialogue, especially when the Venice Commission
examines issues that concern them directly.