Venice Commission Welcomes Serbia’s Constitutional Amendments

Venice Commission Welcomes Serbia’s Constitutional Amendments

The Council of Europe's Venice Commission on Oct. 18 praised as welcome the initiative by Serbian authorities to bring the 2006 Constitution in line with European and international standards, though only in the area of justice, while stressing that the opposition in the parliament should continue to take part in the constitutional reform process.

In its opinion on the draft constitutional amendments dealing with justice, the Venice Commission said that there was room for improvement of the content, especially in relation to the appointment and members of the High Judicial Council and High Council of Prosecutors.

"In comparison to the situation in 2018, there currently appears to be the necessary political momentum in Serbia to achieve a satisfactory result," the Venice Commission said in its opinion. The document noted that the process of public consultation on the draft amendments could be characterized  as "sufficiently inclusive and transparent."

However, in the current political context in Serbia, namely, the one-party majority in the parliament and no opposition in the legislature, there is a strong need for all institutional stakeholders and all political forces in Serbia to adopt an inclusive approach with a view to lending the constitutional reform as broad a legitimacy as possible, the opinion reads further, stressing that the Venice Commission urges the Serbian authorities "to continue to actively seek the participation and involvement of the opposition."