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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 Amendments to the Election Code of Georgia as of 8 January 2016
From 15 to 18 February 2016, a delegation made up of Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR experts participated in a working visit to Tbilisi. The delegation met with the Speaker of the Parliament, representatives from parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties, the Central Election Commission (CEC), the presidential administration, and civil society as well as international organisations working in the electoral field in Georgia. The scope of this joint opinion covers only the amendments submitted for review and analyses them against relevant international obligations and standards, in particular those of the Council of Europe, and OSCE commitments, as well as good practice from other OSCE participating States and Council of Europe member states. It also refers to the relevant recommendations made in previous OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission joint opinions and previous OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly reports from observation missions to Georgia.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Amendments to Some Legislative Acts Concerning Prevention of and Fight Against Political Corruption of Ukraine
On 22 July 2015, Mr Yehor Soboliev, the Chairperson of the Committee on Corruption Prevention and Counteraction of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine sent a letter to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (hereinafter “OSCE/ODIHR”), in which he asked for a review of draft amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Prevention of and Fight against Political Corruption (CDL-REF(2015)031), (hereinafter “the draft amendments”) to assess their compliance with international human rights standards. The draft amendments propose changes to seven different Ukrainian legal acts, namely the Code of Administrative Offences, the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Law on the
Accounting Chamber, the Law on the Elections of the President of Ukraine (hereinafter “Presidential Election Law”), the Law on Political Parties of Ukraine (hereinafter “Political Parties Law”),the Law on Election of Members of Parliament of Ukraine (hereinafter “Parliamentary Elections Law”) and the Law on Prevention of Corruption (hereinafter “AntiCorruption Law”).
Joint Opinion on Draft Amendments to the Law on the Financing of Political Activities of Serbia
The scope of this Joint Opinion covers only the draft amendments, submitted for review, and the law that they are amending. Thus limited, the Joint Opinion does not constitute a full and comprehensive review of the entire legal and institutional framework governing the financing of political parties and election campaigns in Serbia.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Act to Regulate the Formation, the Inner Structures, Functioning and Financing of Political Parties and Their Participation in Elections of Malta
The Joint opinion raises key issues and provides indications of areas of concern. The ensuing recommendations are based on relevant international human rights and rule of law standards and OSCE commitments, Council of Europe standards, as well as good practices from other OSCE participating States and Council of Europe member states. Where appropriate, they also refer to the relevant recommendations made in previous ODIHR and Venice Commission opinions and reports
Joint Opinion on the Draft Electoral Law of the Kyrgyz Republic
In March 2014 the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic asked the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to provide an opinion on the draft law “On Elections in the Kyrgyz Republic” (hereinafter “the draft law”, CDL-REF(2014)014), giving particular consideration to the draft law’s compatibility with international standards and OSCE commitments in three areas: establishment of electoral districts under the proportional representation system, preference voting, and quotas for women and persons belonging to national minorities on lists of candidates. As these three areas have been specifically identified in the request for this joint opinion, they are addressed under the discussion on the electoral system for the distribution of parliamentary mandates. The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission decided to provide a joint legal opinion on the draft Code.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Election Code of Bulgaria
On 26 November 2013, Ms Maya Manolova, Vice-President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria (hereafter “the National Assembly”) and President of the ad hoc parliamentary Committee in charge of drafting a new Election Code, requested the Venice Commission to prepare an opinion on a draft new Election Code of Bulgaria (hereafter “the draft Code”). The Venice Commission and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) decided to provide a joint legal opinion on the draft Code.
Joint Opinion on the Draft Law Amending the Electoral Legislation of the Republic of Moldova
In November 2013, the Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova, Mr Igor Corman, requested the Venice Commission to comment on a text sent to him by a faction from the Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM), concerning a draft proposal to reform the electoral legislation of Moldova (CDL-REF(2014)001). In line with standard practice, the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR have undertaken a joint opinion of the draft legislation.
Review of Electoral Legislation and Practice in OSCE Participating States, 15 October 2013
On 25 January 2013, the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council requested the Director of ODIHR to conduct an extra-budgetary project that would review major areas of electoral legislation and practice in the OSCE participating States in view of their implementation of the provisions of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document. ODIHR agreed to undertake this review on the basis of ODIHR election-related reports published in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012, analyzed against OSCE commitments (principally the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document) as well as other international standards for democratic elections and good electoral practice. Given the limited resources, the selected timeframe ensures that the review covers as many participating States as possible and that the information drawn upon would be the most up-to-date and minimize duplication.