The Venice Commission proposed a new tool to assess the rule of law — Valentyn Hvozdii

The UNBA, BCU Deputy President Valentyn Hvozdii took part in the presentation of the Ukrainian text of the Rule of Law Checklist, developed and approved by the Venice Commission at the 106th plenary session of March 11-12, 2016.

The President of the Venice Commission, Gianni Buquicchio, devoted a national presentation of the Ukrainian edition to the Constitution Day of Ukraine, presenting it to the expert audience, the professional and political circles of the country. The Ukrainian edition became the first translation of this document into a national language, which is not an official language of the Council of Europe.

The event was attended by the President of the Supreme Court of Ukraine, the Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Deputy Minister of Justice, people's deputies, members of the Judicial Reform Council, lawyers and scholars.

The document offers a tool for assessing the rule of law in a particular country through the assessment of relevant constitutional and legislative frameworks, legislation and judicial practice. The translation was made by a member of the Venice Commission, Serhii Holovatyi, who, in addition to translating the text, has also made a glossary of key legal terms and wrote a Commentary to the document. The New Justice Program has initiated and agreed the translation and preparation to print of the Ukrainian text with the Council of Europe.

According to Valentyn Hvozdii, the guideline has practical value for advocates, since it provides an opportunity to assess the observance of the rule of law in their clients’ cases by the court or state bodies (translated in a new terminological interpretation as a rule of law checklist). “The Constitution of Ukraine and the legislation provide that rule of law is a governing principle in Ukraine, and the Venice Commission offers criteria for evaluating the practical observance of this principle - whether it is declarative or respected in practice”, - stated Valentyn Hvozdii. In addition, this publication is interesting for English-speaking advocates, who now will be able to explore the peculiarities of legal terms used by the Council of Europe.