At the end of the 4th session of 2013, Prof. Gianni Buquicchio was re-elected as President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (called the Venice Commission, for the city where it meets).
The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, and is made up of experts on constitutional and international law, supreme or constitutional court judges and members of national parliaments. Set up in the 1990s thanks to the efforts of Prof. La Pergola, the commission was able to assist the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall, to draft new constitutions and laws on constitutional courts, electoral codes, and minority and other legislation regarding democratic institutions.
The experience accumulated over these years makes the commission an especially effective tool for promoting the rule of law, in full compliance with the individual specificities and the necessary ownership of the countries that seek its advice.
As a result of its format and its way of acting, the commission is able to strengthen democratic aspirations and institutions in areas of great interest to the Council of Europe, such as the Balkans and the Mediterranean.
Prof. Buquicchio’s new mandate will ensure much-appreciated continuity. The commission’s institution-building activities, which bring it closer to various geographic areas, including the Americas, make it an international point of reference on judicial advice and rule of law.
View Prof. Buquicchio’s CV at:
