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The Council of Europe Recommendation and Venice Principles setting common standards
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has responded to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe following the adoption of the Recommendation entitled “Ombudsman Institutions in Europe – the need for a set of common standards.” This is the motion which adopted the Venice Principles.
In their response to be found here, the Committee highlighted that the Venice Commission intends encouraging Ombudsman institutions of member states to seek the Commission’s opinion on any law or constitutional and/or legislative amendments affecting them, in consultation with relevant bodies including the IOI. The Commission will assess these constitutional and legislative texts against the background of the Venice Principles and of the relevant recommendations of the Committee of Ministers.
IOI President Peter Tyndall warmly welcomed this development. He said “The Venice Principles and the Council of Europe Recommendation provide a new aspirational standard against which ombudsman institutions can be judged. Many Ombudsman Offices in Council of Europe member states are already considering how their legislation might be improved to achieve compliance. The use of peer review in identifying the case for change is also emerging as a key trend. The IOI draft Best Practice Paper on Peer Review incorporates the Venice Principles in support of this work. Having access to opinions from the Venice Commission is yet another major step forward, and we commend the Commission, its officials and the Council of Europe for their hugely valuable work in developing and strengthening Ombudsman Offices. The IOI, in partnership with the relevant regional and language specific Ombudsman networks, will continue to work with the Ombudsman of Morocco to seek to have the principles endorsed by the UN as a global standard.”
Links
- The Venice Principles
- Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the development of the Ombudsman institution
- Reply adopted by the Committee of Ministers
Source: Office of the Ombudsman, Ireland
