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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 Amendments to the Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament of Montenegro
    At the request of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, the Venice Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe – Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) have assessed the Draft Law (CDLREF(2011)021) on Amendments to the Law on Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament of Montenegro (CDL-EL(2010)010), prepared by a multi-party working group. This request was submitted on 9 May 2011.
    Recommendation
    17 June 2011
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  • Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on ‘Altering and Amending the Law on Election of Members of Parliament’ of the Republic of Serbia
    On 25 February 2011, the Council of Europe office in Belgrade forwarded to the Venice Commission an official request from the Speaker of the Parliament Ms. Djukic Dejanovic for an urgent expertise of the draft partial changes of the Law on the election of representatives of the Republic of Serbia (hereafter “The Election Law”), regarding the blank resignations and the allocation of seats in the parliament (CDL-EL(2005)026 and CDL-REF (2011) 011). Proposed changes have been made by the Parliamentary working group. This is one of the crucial issues for the negotiations process between Serbia and the European Union as well as for the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The draft Law of the Republic of Serbia "Altering and Amending the Law on election of Members of Parliament concerns Articles 84, 88 and 92 of the law on election of MPs. Corresponding changes were introduced in Articles 22 and 198 of the Rules of procedure of the National Assembly…
    Report
    4 October 2011
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  • Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Presidential and Parliamentary Elections, the Draft Law on Elections to Local Governments and the Draft Law on the Formation of Election Commissions of the Kyrgyz Republic
    This opinion is based on the initial set of informal comments provided by OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission in April 2011.1 This joint opinion comments on the most recent versions of these three draft laws, which include amendments through March 2011. Representatives of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR participated in parliamentary hearing on these draft laws held on 3 May. OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission are aware that the national elections law and the election commissions’ law were adopted by the parliament on 12 - 13 May. At the moment of finalising this joint opinion the texts of adopted laws were not published and are not reflected in this opinion. The two institutions intend to review the adopted laws once they are available.
    Report
    23 June 2011
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  • Joint Opinion on the Electoral Legislation of Norway
    In a letter dated 31 May 2010, Mr Dag Henrik Sandbakken, Secretary of State of the Norwegian Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (the Ministry) requested an evaluation of those aspects of the Electoral System of Norway relating to electoral dispute resolution from the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission). More specifically, the Commission was requested to assess “the provisions regarding the adjudication of complaints and appeals, and approval of elections, and how these would relate to Norway’s international obligations”. These provisions are notably Article 55 of the Constitution (CDL-EL(2010)026) and Chapter 13 of the Representation of the People Act (CDL-EL(2010)025).
    Report
    22 December 2010
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  • Joint Opinion on the Election Code of Georgia as Amended through March 2010
    At the request of Georgian authorities, the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (“the Venice Commission”) of the Council of Europe and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (“OSCE/ODIHR”) have prepared the following comments and recommendations on the Unified Election Code of Georgia (“the Code”). The most recent joint opinion of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR is dated 28 October 2008 and contains commentary on amendments through July 2008.
    Report
    9 June 2010
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  • Joint Opinion on the Draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the Election of Councillors and Members of Parliament of Montenegro as Amended through July 2006
    The Council of Europe – Commission on Democracy Through Law (“the Venice Commission”) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe – Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) received a request from the Parliament of Montenegro to conduct a review of a working version of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Election of Councilors and Members of Parliament (hereinafter the draft Law), prepared by a multi-party working group. This request was submitted on 23 March 2010. The joint assessment below takes into consideration previous findings and recommendations made by the OSCE/ODIHR in its final reports from election observation missions in Montenegro as well as progress made by authorities and political parties in Montenegro in their endeavors to improve the legal framework for elections and meet Council of Europe and OSCE commitments and other international standards.
    Report
    8 June 2010
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  • Joint Opinion on the Draft Working Text Amending the Election Code of Moldova
    The proposed amendments to the Election Code (hereinafter “the Code”) were drafted by the Government of the Republic of Moldova in March 2010. Following an official request from the Moldovan authorities forwarded to the Venice Commission on 10 March 2010, and in line with standard practice, the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission have undertaken a joint expert review of the proposed amendments. The present opinion should be read in conjunction with the Joint Opinions of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission on the Election Code of Moldova of 2006, 2007 and 2008. The draft amendments are assessed for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. This opinion focuses on the extent to which the proposed amendments address previous recommendations.
    Report
    7 June 2010
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  • Joint Opinion on the Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Belarus as of 17 December 2009
    The present report follows a request addressed to the Venice Commission by the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 18 March 2010. It provides an assessment of these amendments, which were submitted for information in Russian language to the OSCE/ODIHR in January 2010 by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. The OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission experts have made their assessment based on an unofficial English translation of the Russian original.
    Report
    4 June 2010
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