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Venice Commission
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent members in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin wall, at a time of urgent need for constitutional assistance in Central and Eastern Europe. The Commission's official name is the European Commission for Democracy through Law, but due to its seat in Venice, Italy, where it meets four times a year, it is usually referred to as the Venice Commission.
Starting with a membership of 18 states, soon all member states of the Council of Europe joined the Venice Commission and since 2002 non-European states can also become full members. Today, as of 2005, the Commission counts 48 member states – the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, Kyrgyzstan and Chile as full members, Belarus as associate member and 10 observers (Argentina, Canada, the Holy See, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the United States and Uruguay).
The main focus of the work of the Venice Commission is on draft constitutions and constitutional amendments but the Commission also covers para-constitutional law, i.e. laws which are close to the Constitution, like minority legislation or electoral law.
Requests for opinions come from the participating states and the organs of the Council of Europe. The opinions adopted by the Commission are not binding but however are often followed .