Paris, 07/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On 4 March in Paris, Gianni Buquicchio, the chairman of the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission) informed the Permanent Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Paris that “Our opinion will underline the importance of ensuring the correct functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland”.
The Polish authorities requested the Venice Commission to validate the reforms of its Constitutional Tribunal launched last December. It is expected to give its final opinion at its plenary on 11-12 March next. This opinion is non-binding but it is very much awaited, given the moral weight it exerts and the Polish press has already produced a working document denouncing the changes suggested (see EUROPE 11501).
Gianni Buquicchio criticised these leaks but refused to make any comment before the publication of the final text. He did however, underline the importance of this law on the Constitutional Tribunal because it involves an institution, “which must ensure respect for democracy and represent an essential component in the weights and counterweights of power in Poland”.
Prior to his speech, Buquicchio stated “Europe is going through a difficult period and is standing at a crossroads”. He pointed out that “events in the new as well as the old democracies have demonstrated that the progress made by the Council of Europe are not written in stone”. He therefore believes it essential to further strengthen “the close cooperation that has existed for a long time between the PACE and the Venice Commission” and it is in this sense that he saw the opportunity to regularly address the Office of the PACE and its plenary. During the exchange of views that were effectively the first of its kind, he explained “I would like the invitation you gave me today to become permanent”. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)