The European Commission for Democracy through Law – better known as the Venice Commission as it meets in Venice – is the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters. The Commission has 61 member States: the 46 Council of Europe member States, and 15 other States (Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Tunisia and USA). Its individual members are university professors of public and international law, supreme and constitutional court judges, members of national parliaments and a number of civil servants. They are designated for four years by the member States, but act in their individual capacity.

The role of the Venice Commission is to provide legal advice to its member states and help them bring their legal and institutional structures in line with European standards and international experience in the fields of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It also helps to ensure the dissemination and consolidation of a common constitutional heritage, and provides legal advice to States carrying out constitutional reforms.

The Venice Commission’s pivotal role in upholding and strengthening democracy and the rule of law was underlined in the 2023 Reykjavik Declaration of the Heads of State and Government who undertook to raise the profile and strengthen the Venice Commission, by, for example, giving more visibility and status to its Rule of Law Checklist^[1] and exploring ways the Organisation can better support the implementation of its recommendations.

The types of contact points between civil society organisations (CSOs) and the Venice Commission are threefold:

• Legislation on CSOs as the subject of opinions of the Venice Commission: The Venice Commission has adopted numerous reports and opinions in a number of individual countries. It also contributes to safeguarding freedom of association in its member states through, for instance, general guidelines on freedom of association and on the funding of associations.
• CSOs’ role in democratic law-making: In its opinions, the Venice Commission systematically recommends consultation with civil society organisations as an essential phase of democratic law-making.
• CSOs are essential partners in preparing Venice Commission opinions: delegations of the Venice Commission that visit countries as part of the preparation of opinions regularly meet civil society organisations to obtain their views and expertise.