Justices of the Constitutional Court take part remotely in the XVIII Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts
The XVIII Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts (the Congress) is taking place online on 24 and 25 February. On day one, the President of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova participates in the meeting of the Circle of Presidents of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts. On day two, the judges of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and other European Constitutional Courts discuss the constitutional law issues of current importance in Europe, relating to the fundamental human rights and their application.
In four working sessions, the judges of the constitutional courts will look, from different aspects, at the specificity of human rights catalogues both at the national and international levels. The participants of the Congress will discuss the challenges the constitutional courts and other bodies conducting constitutional review are currently facing in the area of human rights protection.
The President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Koen Lenaerts and the President of the European Court of Human Rights Robert Spano will also take part in the Congress, offering their view of the national and international human rights catalogues from the perspective of European courts.
This international dialogue, involving representatives of European constitutional jurisdictions from 41 countries, strengthens mutual cooperation, allows to discuss current developments, provides a possibility of direct exchange of experience and knowledge about the significant issues of constitutional law.
The Congress takes place every three years. This year, it is held by the Czech Constitutional Court, which was appointed the Presiding court of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts for the period from 2017 to 2021. The Congress had been to take place in 2020 but was postponed to 2021 because of the pandemic.
About the Conference of European Constitutional Courts
The Conference of European Constitutional Courts was established in 1972. This organisation brings together representatives from 41 European constitutional courts and other bodies conducting a constitutional review. It has evolved into the most important European forum where its members share experience and opinions on matters of constitutional law. The purpose of the organisation is to reinforce the independence of constitutional courts, democracy and the rule of law, and to promote respect for the fundamental rights.
The chairmanship of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts, rotating every three years, can only be held by a court that is a full member of the organisation. From 2017 to 2021, the organisation is chaired by the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, whose status as the presiding state has been extended because of the pandemic. For the next three years, the responsibilities of the presiding state will be taken over by the Constitutional Court of Moldova.
The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia became a full member of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts in 2000.
Information about the organisation is available here:
http://www.confeuconstco.org/en/common/home.html