On 11 October 2025, the Venice Commission celebrated its 35th anniversary of advising countries on constitutional and legal reforms with a ceremony in Palazzo Ducale in Venice, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella.
Secretary General Alain Berset and the President of the Venice Commission Claire Bazy Malaurie opened the event, after institutional greetings by the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro. This was followed by speeches by Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, President of the Republic of North Macedonia and by Antonio Tajani, Vice-President of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of Italy.
A keynote speech “Democracy renewed: Lessons from transitions, today’s challenges of backsliding and our commitment for tomorrow” was given by Egils Levits, Former President of the Republic of Latvia and former judge of the European Court of Human Rights. Clifton Grima, Minister for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation of Malta on behalf of the Presidency of Malta of the Committee of Ministers, Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Ivana Jelić, Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights and Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights also addressed the audience.
The event provided a unique opportunity to assess the manner in which democratic institutions have developed in Council of Europe member states and beyond over the last 35 years, to consider the achievements of the Venice Commission’s work of assistance in constitutional design, and to reflect on how to pursue democratic development in the future.
On the same day, the exhibition “La Democrazia attraverso il Diritto. Dalla Serenissima Repubblica alla Commissione di Venezia del Consiglio d’Europa” (“Democracy through law: from the Serenissima Republic to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe”) was inaugurated. The exhibition will be open for the public until January 6, 2026, in Appartamenti del Doge, Palazzo Ducale.
The exhibition, a collaboration between the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe Programme Office in Venice, the Soprintendenza Archivistica e Bibliografica del Veneto e Trentino – Alto Adige, l’Archivio di Stato di Venezia, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) and il Consiglio Regionale del Veneto, offers a fascinating journey through the history of democracy and the rule of law, from the forerunner Serenissima Republic of Venice to the Council of Europe member states of today, under the expert eye of the Venice Commission.
