The European Commission for Democracy through Law (better known as the Venice Commission), the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional matters, will celebrate its 35th anniversary of advising countries on constitutional and legal reforms with a ceremony on 11 October in Venice (Palazzo Ducale, Sala dello Scrutinio, 11 am-3 pm), in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella. Secretary General Alain Berset will provide a welcome address, following institutional greetings by the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro.
Opening address will be delivered by Claire Bazy Malaurie, President of the Venice Commission followed by speeches by Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, President of the Republic of North Macedonia and by Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of Italy.
A keynote speech "Democracy renewed: Lessons from transitions, today's challenges of backsliding and our commitment for tomorrow" will be given by Egils Levits, Former President of the Republic of Latvia and former judge of the European Court of Human Rights. Clifton Grima, Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation of Malta on behalf of the Presidency of Malta of the Committee of Ministers, Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Ivana Jelić, Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights and Michael O'Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights will also address the audience.
The event will provide a unique opportunity to assess the manner in which democratic institutions have developed in Council of Europe member states and beyond over the last 35 years, to consider the achievements of the Venice Commission's work of assistance in constitutional design, and to reflect on how to pursue democratic development in the future.
On the same day, the exhibition entitled "La Democrazia attraverso il Diritto. Dalla Serenissima Repubblica alla Commissione di Venezia del Consiglio d'Europa" ("Democracy through law: from the Serenissima Republic to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe") will be inaugurated (open until January 6, 2026, in Appartamenti del Doge, Palazzo Ducale).
The exhibition, a collaboration between the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe Programme Office in Venice, the Soprintendenza Archivistica e Bibliografica del Veneto e Trentino - Alto Adige, l'Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) and il Consiglio Regionale del Veneto, offers a fascinating journey through the history of democracy and the rule of law, from the forerunner Serenissima Republic of Venice to the Council of Europe member states of today, under the expert eye of the Venice Commission.
Background information
The Venice Commission comprises independent legal experts (constitutional and ordinary judges, law and political science professors, ombudspersons, electoral specialists) from its 61 member States (all 46 Council of Europe member states and 15 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas). It provides impartial advice on legal and constitutional reforms, in the form of opinions, upon request from member States or organs of the Council of Europe (or certain other European or international institutions), to assist states in finding effective solutions to constitutional and legal issues while respecting European and international standards in the field of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The Commission's plenary sessions are held in Venice at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, four times a year. Claire Bazy Malaurie, former member of the Constitutional Council of France, is currently the President of the Venice Commission.
The Commission was set up on 10 May 1990 by 18 Council of Europe member States with the conviction that sustainable democracy could only be built if this was grounded on a sound constitutional framework based on the rule of law. Antonio La Pergola, former Minister of (European) Community Policy of Italy, was the Venice Commission's founder and first President.
Since 1990, the Venice Commission has adopted more than 1200 country-specific opinions and general reports, becoming an essential point of reference for professional and independent expert advice in constitution-making.
Opinions of the Venice Commission on specific countries have covered a wide range of topics: the system of checks and balances, and the relations amongst different branches of power, the territorial organisation of the States, principles of the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, constitutional justice, the judiciary and the prosecution service, status and powers of ombudspersons, reforms of the electoral system, regulations on the political parties and referenda. At the request of a constitutional court or the European Court of Human Rights, the Commission may also provide amicus curiae briefs on comparative constitutional and international law issues related to a case under consideration.
