31st Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities – 19-21 October 2016

Speaking notes Jos Wienen

Check against delivery

Item 12 - Draft resolution on the “Rule of Law Checklist” adopted by the Venice Commission

Strasbourg, 21 October 2016

Dear colleagues,

I am particularly pleased to present this draft resolution on the “Rule of Law Checklist”. As the Chair of the Council for Democratic Elections, I have a close connection with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. And in my view, this draft resolution is fully in line with the valuable co-operation between our two organs: the Venice Commission as a legal body and the Congress as a political body. As you know, the rule of law is one of the three pillars of the Council of Europe, together with democracy and human rights. It is a necessary ingredient of true democracy, that actually ensures that the exercise of public powers is rigorously delimited and subject to independent control.

Still, some of you may ask: “what is this “Rule of Law Checklist”?” Mr Jan HELGESEN, from the Venice Commission, made a presentation at the Monitoring Committee meeting, and I would like to take this opportunity to warmly thank him. Of course, I’m not going to make such a comprehensive and smart presentation before that assembly. More modestly, I would like to stress that this “Rule of Law Checklist” is undoubtedly a key document to assess the degree of respect for the rule of Law in our countries. With this tool, you can, on the basis of simple and detailed questions, consider how far the rule of law is guaranteed in a given country. It also provides clear guidelines for further improving respect for the rule of Law. The Checklist aims to be practical and user-friendly: the circle of the stakeholders is not defined and therefore includes all interested persons – and us, local and regional representatives, members of the Congress in particular. I’m sure it has the potential for enabling us, local and regional leaders, better to ensure the concrete implementation of some core elements of the rule of law such as legality, prevention of the misuse of powers, or equality before the law and non-discrimination. I would go even further and say that, for the sake of the rule of Law, this Checklist has all the apparatus of a normative tool that could effectively complement the existing legal arsenal of the Council of Europe.

Dear Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, implementing the rule of Law is an on-going task, which requires the commitment of all levels of governance. Because we, at the Monitoring Committee, are sure that this innovative document is a useful tool, we decided to approve the present draft resolution that is now proposed to the Congress for adoption. So, in a nutshell, the draft resolution starts by recalling the key importance of the concept of the rule of Law for democracy in general as well as its particular place in the legal framework of the Council of Europe. It recalls the content of this “Rule of Law Checklist” and its relevance for all. Then comes the purpose of this draft resolution that is primarily to endorse and to promote the Checklist. Through the dissemination of this tool, we hope that the members of the Congress will make good use of it. So, one last point, the draft resolution also aims to launch an idea: why not pursuing a similar approach to that of the Venice Commission on the concept of democracy and in particular – because that is obviously our main concern, here – on the concept of local and regional democracy.

I believe that endorsement of the Rule of Law Checklist by the Congress to support the efforts of the Venice Commission would foster both a common understanding and an improvement of this essential European value and, even more, that it would help promote responsible local and regional democracy.

Thank you very much for your attention.