Venice Commission Rule of Law Checklist for States published

The Council of Europe's Venice Commission on Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) has published a major new European rule of law checklist. The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law played a substantial role in the drafting of the Checklist, the Report noting in particular our compilation of the selected standards in part III of the document.

In its 2011 Report on the Rule of Law, the Venice Commission published a draft rule of law checklist with the intention of expanding it further to be used as a tool for assessing the rule of law in a given state. The new Rule of Law Checklist comprises a series of questions focussing on national constitutional and legal structures, legislation in force and existing case law. It also includes a number of benchmarks relating to practice to underscore the fact that implementation of the law is a vital component of the rule of law.

The Venice Commission hopes that the Checklist can function as a useful tool for states and other bodies, including national parliaments, civil society and international organisations.

Download the checklist here.