Representatives of 40 European constitutional courts met in Chisinau at the 19h Congress of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts, which is hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova. The theme of this year’s edition is “Forms and limits of judicial deference: the case of constitutional courts”. The event was also attended by President Maia Sandu, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu, as well as President of the European Court of Human Rights Siofra O'Leary and President of the Venice Commission Claire Bazy Malaurie, IPN reports.
On February 25, 2021, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova took over for the first time the presidency of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts for a three-year term from the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic.
In the opening remarks, CC president Domnica Manole stated that the assumed role of the Conference of European Constitutional Courts is that of a forum where participants present their opinions on institutional, structural and practical issues in the field of public law and constitutional justice.
“The conference aimed to strengthen the independence of constitutional courts in order to guarantee and implement democracy, the rule of law and human rights. What other authorities, if not the constitutional courts, are best suited to achieve these desiderata and to enforce compliance with the principle of separation and balance of powers in the state for the benefit of the citizens?” said Domnica Manole.
According to her, the congress focuses on the issue of judicial deference in the case of constitutional courts. “Judicial difference is a tool used by judges to maintain the separation of powers and to limit their interventions on matters that are considered beyond their expertise or legitimacy to decide. The Constitutional Court prepared a questionnaire on this topic, which is to be answered by the constitutional courts that are members of the Conference. During the congress, three discussion sections will be organized, related to the main theme. The first concerns the interaction between constitutional courts and supra-national courts. The second section addresses the issue of politics and justice in the work of constitutional courts, while the third section aims to safeguard constitutional principles during the state of emergency,” said Domnica Manole.
A part of the congress proceedings will be found in a volume that will be published in the near future.
