Reflecting on her long relationship with the Council of Europe, Hanna Suchocka noted “In November 1990, I got a phone call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offering me the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Commission Democracy through Law, a new body of the Council of Europe.
I had been involved in the work of the Council of Europe as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly and this body had been very important to us in the process of constitutional changes and related legal reform. I was then a member of the Constitutional Committee of the Polish Sejm and Vice-Chairman of its Legislative Committee. At that time, I knew little about the Commission itself, but its objectives were extremely important and crucial to the challenges we faced in Poland.
The second off-site meeting in the Commission's history was in Warsaw, Poland, in 1993, when I was Prime Minister. Seven years later, my candidature was put forward for a post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe... Over the years, I was the co-rapporteur of about 80 opinions of the Venice Commission, and I saw how its role has changed. The first years of the Commission were uphill. There was an enthusiasm for change and a search for support in the European institutions. Later, around 2010, the political situation in the Member States was changing dynamically, even in those that had already joined the European Union. Problems emerged with understanding and respecting the rule of law. It was a big challenge for the Venice Commission, but it has remained a professional, independent legal body. And I am happy to be a part it.”
The project “75 women in 75 years of Council of Europe history” is organised by the Delegation of the European Union to the Council of Europe with the Council of Europe and the Permanent Representations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
