Entro il 31 gennaio 2025 - Call for papers for the international conference The Venice Commission 1990-2025 Taking stock of 35 years for democracy through law
"Taking stock of 35 years for democracy through law"
Established through Resolution (90)6 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe "on a Partial Agreement Establishing the European Commission for Democracy through Law” on 10 May 1990, the Commission for Democracy through Law (‘Venice Commission’) has constantly grown in importance and influence in the course of its 35 years of activity. While in the Nineties its main task was to support the constitution building processes during the democratic transition in Central and Eastern European countries, in recent years the Venice Commission has been confronted with a wide variety of constitutional issues from all over Europe. Furthermore, its impact has significantly expanded beyond Europe, with 15 non-Council of Europe States among its members and cooperation programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Having delivered an impressive amount of opinions and studies covering all areas of comparative constitutional law, the Venice Commission is nowadays a leading and influential voice in Europe on all matters pertaining to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its establishment, the Department of Legal Studies of Bocconi University in Milan and the Venice Commission convene a 2-days international conference – "The Venice Commission 1990-2025. Taking stock of 35 years for democracy through law” – to encourage the scientific debate on the contribution of the Venice Commission to the development of common constitutional standards. The conference aims at being an occasion of dialogue and exchange between legal scholarship and the Venice Commission and its Secretariat on current and future challenges for the Commission.
Legal scholars at all stages of their professional career and from all jurisdictions are invited to submit a proposal focusing on the following topics (non-exhaustive list):
• The history of the Venice Commission, its authority-building process, its current challenges;
• The Commission’s institutional setting (composition, selection of members, legal basis, types of documents adopted, etc.);
• The Commission’s ways of working (dialogue with the domestic stakeholders, stewardship, cooperative approach, etc.);
• Effects and impact of its opinions and studies (quotations by domestic and international courts, impact on domestic legislative processes, influence on international standard setting, etc.);
• Examination of specific opinions and reports, either on a particular topic (e.g. constitutional adjudication, election laws, amnesty laws, etc.) or on a particular State, including their impact on the ground;
• The Commission’s interaction with national or international authorities (national Parliaments, Governments and Courts, Ombudsman institutions, international organizations, the ECtHR, etc.);
• The cooperation with the European Union and the increasing role of the Venice Commission in the assessment of the conditionality requirements for candidate countries to the EU as well as Member States.
Participants are requested to send an abstract of no more than 4.000 characters (including spaces), by 31 January 2025, via email to: [email protected] using as email subject "The Venice Commission 1990-2025”.
The organizing committee will select the papers and notify the participants by 15 February 2025. Successful applicants will be invited to present their papers at the conference and debate with one or two discussants, including former and current members of the Venice Commission.
The conference proceedings will be published, subject to peer review, either in a special issue of an international law journal, or in an edited book.
The organizing Committee: Marta Cartabia (Bocconi University and Venice Commission), Simona Granata-Menghini (Venice Commission), Davide Paris (Bocconi University).
Deadlines’ overview:
Submission of abstracts: 31 January 2025
Notification of successful applicants: 15 February 2025
For further information:
[email protected]
"Taking stock of 35 years for democracy through law"
Established through Resolution (90)6 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe "on a Partial Agreement Establishing the European Commission for Democracy through Law” on 10 May 1990, the Commission for Democracy through Law (‘Venice Commission’) has constantly grown in importance and influence in the course of its 35 years of activity. While in the Nineties its main task was to support the constitution building processes during the democratic transition in Central and Eastern European countries, in recent years the Venice Commission has been confronted with a wide variety of constitutional issues from all over Europe. Furthermore, its impact has significantly expanded beyond Europe, with 15 non-Council of Europe States among its members and cooperation programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Having delivered an impressive amount of opinions and studies covering all areas of comparative constitutional law, the Venice Commission is nowadays a leading and influential voice in Europe on all matters pertaining to democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its establishment, the Department of Legal Studies of Bocconi University in Milan and the Venice Commission convene a 2-days international conference – "The Venice Commission 1990-2025. Taking stock of 35 years for democracy through law” – to encourage the scientific debate on the contribution of the Venice Commission to the development of common constitutional standards. The conference aims at being an occasion of dialogue and exchange between legal scholarship and the Venice Commission and its Secretariat on current and future challenges for the Commission.
Legal scholars at all stages of their professional career and from all jurisdictions are invited to submit a proposal focusing on the following topics (non-exhaustive list):
• The history of the Venice Commission, its authority-building process, its current challenges;
• The Commission’s institutional setting (composition, selection of members, legal basis, types of documents adopted, etc.);
• The Commission’s ways of working (dialogue with the domestic stakeholders, stewardship, cooperative approach, etc.);
• Effects and impact of its opinions and studies (quotations by domestic and international courts, impact on domestic legislative processes, influence on international standard setting, etc.);
• Examination of specific opinions and reports, either on a particular topic (e.g. constitutional adjudication, election laws, amnesty laws, etc.) or on a particular State, including their impact on the ground;
• The Commission’s interaction with national or international authorities (national Parliaments, Governments and Courts, Ombudsman institutions, international organizations, the ECtHR, etc.);
• The cooperation with the European Union and the increasing role of the Venice Commission in the assessment of the conditionality requirements for candidate countries to the EU as well as Member States.
Participants are requested to send an abstract of no more than 4.000 characters (including spaces), by 31 January 2025, via email to: [email protected] using as email subject "The Venice Commission 1990-2025”.
The organizing committee will select the papers and notify the participants by 15 February 2025. Successful applicants will be invited to present their papers at the conference and debate with one or two discussants, including former and current members of the Venice Commission.
The conference proceedings will be published, subject to peer review, either in a special issue of an international law journal, or in an edited book.
The organizing Committee: Marta Cartabia (Bocconi University and Venice Commission), Simona Granata-Menghini (Venice Commission), Davide Paris (Bocconi University).
Deadlines’ overview:
Submission of abstracts: 31 January 2025
Notification of successful applicants: 15 February 2025
For further information:
[email protected]