Rule of Law

Look after the Rule of Law, and it will look after you

Martin Šolc (IBA President 2017–2018): Beneath this message, you will find eight short videos that illustrate how our everyday lives are affected when the different elements that make up the rule of law are flouted. Each video is approximately one minute long.

It is my hope that you will watch, and then share, the videos with your family, friends, colleagues and generally anyone in your network of contacts to enable a discussion about the importance of the rule of law and why we all need to do what we can to protect and promote it.


IBA reflection paper on the EU Commission Communication of April 3, 2019

The EU Commission Communication of 3 April 2019 sought views on “Further Strengthening the Rule of Law within the Union”. The Commission set out the three pillars for future action – promotion, prevention and response and invited stakeholders to contribute to a reflection on the next steps. This paper is the IBA’s response, which was sent to the Commission in June 2019.

This paper is the IBA’s response, which was sent to the Commission in June 2019. Among other actions, the paper suggests:

  • The development of specialist workshops on core EU rule of law issues for law-makers
  • The possibility of consolidating the rule of law and justice portfolios and lodging them with one single special Commissioner, to underline the importance of the concept and necessity for Member State and Union adherence to it
  • Promotion and development of ‘European constitutional patriotism’ to increase ownership of EU rule of law requirements among civil society

On 17 July 2019, the Commission set out concrete actions to strengthen the Union’s capacity to promote and uphold the rule of law, through promotion of a common rule of law culture, prevention of rule of law problems and an effective response. In particular, the Commission established a Rule of Law Review Cycle and called on the EU institutions for a coordinated approach.

European Commission - Rule of law framework

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