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Election-related Legal Opinions and Comments
Legal books line the shelves of ODIHR's Elections Department. (OSCE/Agnieszka Rembowska) Photo details
Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on the State Election Commission of the Republic of Croatia
The Draft Law is here reviewed under benefit from discussion thereof at a Roundtable held at the Parliament Building in Zagreb on 13 December 2005, co-organised by the Central State Administration Office (CSAO) and the OSCE Mission to Croatia, with participation of the OSCE/ODHIR and the Venice Commission. The Roundtable was attended by representatives of the Croatian Government, Parliament, Constitutional Court and Supreme Court as well as academicians and non-governmental organisations. The Prime Minister Dr. Ivo Sanader and the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Vladimir Seks, attended the opening session, and the governmental representatives included Mr Branko Hrvatin, President of the Supreme Court and of the existing SEC, and Mr Antun Palaric, State Secretary of the CSAO, which has been instrumental in the drafting of the Law Bill. - The discussion referred inter alia to an earlier Roundtable organised by the OSCE Mission in November 2004, which also was attended by the OSCE/ODHIR and the Venice Commission. It was there concluded that the adoption of a law on the SEC should be among the priorities in electoral reform.
Joint Recommendations on the Laws on Parliamentary, Presidential and Local Elections, and Electoral Administration in the Republic of Serbia
The comments on the three election laws of the Republic of Serbia (Serbia and Montenegro) are provided by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) with the goal of assisting the authorities of Serbia in their efforts to improve the legal framework for elections. The OSCE/ODIHR and the VC stand ready to provide assistance to authorities in their electoral reform efforts.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Electoral Code of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The Draft Electoral Code would provide a better integrated and unitary legislative framework for the administration of most elections. The Draft Code would make numerous improvements in the provisions currently included in the main election laws, including the Laws on the Election of Members of Parliament, on the Election of the President, and on Local Elections. In addition, other election-related laws, such as those on the Voter List and Election Districts (for parliamentary elections) have been incorporated in revised form into the Draft Code.
Joint Opinion on the Electoral Code of Moldova, as amended on 22 July, 4 and 17 November 2005
The Moldovan electoral system and its Electoral Code have been subject to a number of recommendations for improvement, by the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe over the past years. The most comprehensive set of such recommendations is found in the document called Joint Recommendations on the Electoral Law and the Electoral Administration in Moldova of 12 July 2004 (CDL-AD(2004)027), hereinafter called “the Joint Recommendations”. The document, however, makes it clear that it focuses on the questions arising from local elections and will in general not develop aspects specific to parliamentary elections, such as the existence of a single constituency. Another set of recommendations is given in the Venice Commission Opinion on the Election Law of the Republic of Moldova, 16 January 2003 (CDL-AD(2003)001), hereinafter called “the Opinion on the Election Law”.
Joint Opinion on the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine
This draft opinion is based on comments provided by Messrs Jessie Pilgrim and Joseph Middleton (experts of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE), Angel Sanchez Navarro (Substitute Member of the Venice Commission, Spain), Taavi Annus (Former member of the Venice Commission, Estonia) and are based on an English translation of the Law provided by the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on the State Register of Voters of Ukraine
In April 2005 the Minister of Justice of Ukraine requested an opinion on the Draft Law on the State Register of voters of Ukraine. This draft opinion is based on comments provided by Messrs Joseph Middleton (expert of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE) and Angel Sanchez Navarro (Substitute Member of the Venice Commission, Spain), and are based on an English translation of the Law provided by the Ministry of Justice Ukraine. The joint Venice Commission - OSCE/ODIHR opinion was adopted by the Council for Democratic Elections at its 15th meeting (Venice, 15 December 2005) and by the Venice Commission at its 65th Plenary Session (Venice, 16-17 December 2005).
OSCE/ODIHR Commentaries on the Draft Law on the Croatian State Election Commission
The Croatian Parliament (Sabor) is considering a State Election Commission Bill (“Draft Law”). The Draft Law would provide for the establishment and operation of a permanent State Election Commission (SEC), and also transfer to it certain functions related to the Voter List. International as well as national observers of Croatian elections have recommended the formation of a permanent electoral administration. The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Report for the 2003 Parliamentary elections made a similar recommendation, by stating “…permanent election administration functions should be established.” To follow up on this issue, the OSCE/ODIHR, together with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe participated in the roundtable on election legislation reform organized by the OSCE Mission with participation of the representatives of the governmental and parliamentary bodies, academics, and the civic society in Zagreb in November 2004. This meeting concluded that the adoption of a law on the State Election Commission would be one of the priorities.
Final Opinion on the Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia
This Joint Opinion follows the previous opinions on the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia provided by the Venice Commission and OSCE-ODIHR (CDL-AD(2005)019). This opinion is specifically based on the most recent previous opinion and on the law amending the Electoral Code, namely: • Interim Joint Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia, version of 19 April 2005, from 14 June 2005 (CDL-AD(2005)019); • Law on the Amendments and Additions to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, adopted on 17 May 2005 by the National Assembly of Armenia (CDLEL(2005)024); • The version of the Electoral Code of 3 August 2002 (CDL(2003)052).