ADDRESS BY H.E. ANTONIO MILOSHOSKI MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AT THE CEREMONY TO COMMEMORATE THE 20^th ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW

Distinguished President
Esteemed Members of the Venice Commission
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great honor to address you here in this city of eternal beauty, in my capacity as the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, at the celebration of 20-th anniversary of the European Commission for Democracy through Law.

We have gathered here to celebrate one of the major achievements of the Council of Europe. Twenty years of productive work of the Venice Commission – an advisory body that has contributed to the creation of constitutional order in Europe, reflecting the principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights, breathing democracy and pluralism deeper into European societies. The European citizens must be confident that their fundamental rights are guaranteed in all circumstances and the Venice Commission certainly provides an additional control that European Constitutions offer such a guarantee.

The founding member states evidently had a very clear vision when establishing the Venice Commission in 1990, which represents the turning point in the democratic history of Europe. Today, we are particularly grateful to them. They believed in the idea defined by the Commission’s founder and the first President, great professor Antonio La Pergola that the main goal of the Venice Commission is maintaining the peace through democracy and democracy through peace. Twenty years later, the Commission has become internationally recognized as a reference body providing assistance on constitutional and electoral matters, engaging in cooperation with constitutional courts and ombudspersons. It has opened its doors to member states outside Europe. With the accession of Mexico in 2010, the Venice Commission has 57 fully-fledged members. Around 1.3 billion people are covered by its expertise. These figures are not mere statistics but they show the influence the Venice Commission has. To comprehend the amount of work done by the Commission, one should look at its annual reports. There are many opinions related to constitutional reforms, numerous studies on subjects of general nature, codes and guidelines on subjects related to functioning of democratic institution. Offering all these legal texts, the Commission is constantly reshaping the European constitutional heritage and is acting beyond the European continent.

Dear President Buquicchio,

As we are making an overview at this august moment, I have to mention the significant role played by the Commission in crisis management and conflict prevention by providing advice and by helping develop the constitutional law of countries which have experienced or are experiencing the risk of ethnic and political conflicts. I have to pay tribute to the constitutional engineering the Venice Commission is carrying out as a means of accommodating conflicting interests in certain societies. It facilitates the transformation of the political agreements reached between opposing political actors into workable legal solutions. I have to stress that the success of those solutions is to be attributed to the accumulated expertise in the Venice Commission, underlain by the professional wisdom of its members. The legal solutions offered by the Commission to complex political situations can be implemented in practice because they take into account the whole spectrum of social, historical and cultural factors in a given society. In fact, the ultimate goal is to adopt legislation that can improve the society and help counter discrimination and injustice, providing thus democratic security for its citizens.

But, it is understandable that without effective enforcement, laws cannot fulfill their noble aspirations. When the rule of law is concerned, very often, it is not enough to help states to adopt democratic constitutions. It is essential to help member states to ensure that the adopted standards are adequately implemented. That is why the Commission is developing close cooperation with the key players in this field, such as constitutional courts and other courts with equivalent jurisdiction and other human rights institution, such as ombudspersons.

Esteemed Members of the Venice Commission,

Over the years, the Venice Commission has become a standard reference not only for states, but also for many international organizations. Fruitful cooperation had been established with the European Commission, OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human rights, OSCE Office of the High Commissioner for National Minorities, International Organization of the Francophone, Southern African Chief Justice Forum, Group of Asian Constitutional courts and others.

I must express my appreciation for the assistance offered by the Venice Commission to the Macedonian Government. We have relied on your support in our constitutional development. Let me mention few recent examples when we benefited from the Commission’s expertise and assistance. At the request of our Ministry of Justice, the Venice Commission, together with OSCE/ODIHR, prepared an opinion on the Electoral Code as amended in October 2008. In the framework of the local and presidential elections, on 2 and 3 March in 2009, the Venice Commission provided legal assistance and trained approximately 80 trainers to train all the members Election Boards at all polling stations all over the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On May 11th we took over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In the months ahead, we will try to voice the concerns, hopes and aspirations of the 800 million citizens across 47 member states. We will try to be particularly attentive to the needs of the countries from our region where the Venice Commission has a role to play.

As the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, I can assure you that the Venice Commission will continue to receive our strong support as a Council of Europe body of great value.

Once again I would like to extend my gratitude to President Buquicchio for the kind invitation. Congratulating you on the election, I wish you great success in your future work.
Thank you for the attention.