Early elections in Moldova, judiciary in Ukraine – the Venice Commission meets in plenary

Dates: 12 and 13 March 2010

Location: Venice, Italy (Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista)

Organised by the Venice Commission which is a consultative body of the Council of Europe on constitutional issues, advising member states on the basis of the international standards on the legal foundations of democratic societies.

Description: At its 82nd plenary session, the Commission is expected to adopt the opinions on the legislation concerning the following issues:

• Azerbaijan – normative legal Acts;
• Bulgaria – forfeiture by the State of illegally acquired assets;
• Georgia – local self-government and freedom of assembly and demonstrations;  
• Moldova – the timeframe for holding early elections following the failure of parliament to elect a new President;
• Montenegro - protection from discrimination;
• Turkey -  the status of religious communities;
• Serbia - referendum and civil initiative;
• Ukraine – judicial system and status of judges.

The follow-up to opinions on such issues as the lustration law of Albania, the ECtHR cases of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, the law on occupied territories of Georgia, draft criteria and standards for the election of judges and Court Presidents of Serbia is on the agenda of this session.

The Commission may be invited to adopt the reports on:
• restrictions on access to Parliament and thresholds;
• independence of judges.

The Commission will exchange views with the Bulgarian and Serbian Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe, with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Congress.

All the opinions are public after their adoption and are available on the website of the Venice Commission shortly after the session: www.venice.coe.int

Press contact:
Friday 12 March – Tatiana Mychelova, tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 3868, mobile +33 (0)6 76 72 04 02
Saturday 13 March – Secretariat, tel. +39 347 2490 608