Venice Commission to discuss Moldova's communist symbol ban

When the Venice Commission assembles for a plenary session in December, it could discuss the request of the Moldovan Constitutional Court (CC) to provide a legal opinion on whether the prohibition imposed on the use of communist symbols for political purposes is in line with the democratic standards. The Venice Commission could also pronounce on the provision limiting the immunity of judges in cases involving corruption and influence peddling. This was revealed by Thomas Markert, Secretary General of the Venice Commission, at a meeting with CC President Alexandru Tanase. According to a CC press release, the officials exchanged views on the constitutional reform in Moldova, including from the perspective of the recommendations formulated by the Venice Commission on this matter. Alexandru Tanase informed the European official of the Constitutional Court's intention to develop the mechanism of individual access to constitutional justice. In this context, Thomas Markert reiterated the Venice Commission's availability to further assist Moldova with constitutional justice matters. Alexandru Tanase made a working visit to Strasbourg during November 5-9.