The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia and the Court of Justice of the European Union lay flowers at the Freedom Monument and write a message in the Book of Freedom, paying tribute to freedom and the common European values of the rule of law
On Thursday, 2 September, Sanita Osipova, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, and Koen Lenaerts, the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, laid flowers at the Freedom Monument, thus paying tribute to the idea of freedom as a cornerstone of human fundamental rights.
Freedom is one of the constitutional values enshrined in national constitutions. The European Union offers a borderless space of freedom, security and rule of law. Thus, freedom is a common European value.
In the Honorary room of the Freedom Monument, Sanita Osipova, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia, and Koen Lenaerts, the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union made a symbolic inscription in the Book of Freedom.
In the Book of Freedom, the Presidents included a text from the Lisbon Treaty preamble. The symbolic inscription says, that ‘drawing inspiration from the cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe, from which have developed the universal values of the inviolable and inalienable rights of the human person, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law, we are united in diversity’. By choosing a text from a provision of law and the motto of the European Union, the Presidents underline that the law is a corner stone of a united Europe.
On 2 and 3 September the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia and the Court the Justice of the European Union organised a conference “EUnited in diversity: between common constitutional traditions and national identities”. This is the first time in the history of the European Union that judges from the constitutional courts of the Member States and the Court of Justice of the European Union came together to find, through dialogue, a common understanding on how to reconcile the idea of European unity with the different constitutional traditions and national identities.