The Rule of Law in Crisis? – Some Observations from the Perspective of the Venice Commission

Abstract

The European Commission for Democracy through Law - better known as the Venice Commission - is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters. In this article, the existence of serious threats to the rule of law will be elaborated on. There are various methods in order to conduct such an exercise. This contribution is limited to the overarching trend to use legislative amendments to repress those who disagree with government policies, those who could potentially disagree with the government line, or those who are otherwise considered to be an ‘opponent’ to the regime. When examining those threats, a distinction will be made between those measures which target the judiciary (including constitutional justice), the press, and civil society. Reference will be made to opinions adopted by the Venice Commission over the last five years (in a non-exhaustive manner). Because of this angle (opinions, statements and studies of the Venice Commission), this article does not provide an exhaustive picture of the ‘Rule of Law’ landscape, nor is that the intention of this article. Some thoughts as to the underlying explanations for such a ‘Rule of Law crisis’ will be discussed. In the concluding part, some more personal comments will be made how a body such as the Venice Commission can respond to the before-mentioned threats to the Rule of Law.