CONGRESSES OF THE WCCJ
1st Congress, Cape Town, 2009
The 1st Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice was organised by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in co-operation with the Venice Commission and took place in Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa, on 22–24 January 2009. Moreover, this event coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Participants from 93 Constitutional Courts, Constitutional Councils and Supreme Courts with constitutional, including human rights jurisdiction participated in the 1st Congress and had an opportunity to discuss the topic “Influential Constitutional Justice – its influence on society and on developing a global jurisprudence on human rights”. Furthermore, to encourage the participants to delve deeply into these issues, the topic was divided into following subtopics:
1) The role of constitutional courts and equivalent bodies in building a nation of rule of law;
2) The influence of constitutional justice on society;
3) The development of a global human rights jurisprudence.
It was concluded in the 1st Congress that constitutional justice is a key element in fostering and deepening the basic values enshrined in the Constitutions that form the basis of the work of the Courts and Councils which participated in the World Conference on Constitutional Justice. Moreover, the presentations and discussions at the World Conference showed a common concern for the defence of human rights and the rule of law, both on a regional and a global level. These and other ideas were adopted alongside with the Final Declaration of the 1st Congress.
2nd Congress, Rio de Janeiro, 2011
The 2nd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice was organised by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil in co-operation with the Venice Commission and took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 16–18 January 2011. Participants from 88 Constitutional Courts, Constitutional Councils and Supreme Courts with constitutional, including human rights jurisdiction, as well as the 10 regional and linguistics groups of courts from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe participated in the 2nd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice to debate on the topic “Separation of Powers and Independence of Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies”. For the benefit of the participants the topic was divided into following subtopics:
1) Separation of powers and independence of constitutional courts and equivalent bodies
2) Judicial independence as a human right
3) The independence of the constitutional court as an institution
4) The independence of constitutional judges
5) Court procedures as a guarantee of independence
The utmost importance of the 2nd Congress is that the participants also discussed a draft Statute for the World Conference on Constitutional Justice as a permanent body.
3rd Congress, Seoul, 2014
The previous 3rd Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice was organised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea in co-operation with the Venice Commission and took place in Seoul on 28 September–1 October 2014. 86 constitutional courts, councils and supreme courts, as well as international organisations around the globe participated in the 3rd Congress under the topic “Constitutional Justice and Social Integration”.
The participants had an opportunity to discuss the topic of the 3rd Congress in 5 separate sessions. Each session had a different subtopic, which were as follows:
1) Challenges of Social Integration in a Globalised World;
2) International Standards for Social Integration;
3) Constitutional Instruments Enhancing/Dealing with/for Social Integration;
4) The Role of Constitutional Justice in Social Integration;
5) Independence of Constitutional Courts – Stocktaking.
Thus, the 3rd Congress examined how constitutional courts have dealt with social integration and – in its absence – with social conflict. The participating judges were able to draw inspiration from the experience of their colleagues, whether from positive examples or from cases were the courts were unable to solve these issues.
4th Congress, Vilnius, 2017
The 4th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice under the topic “The Rule of Law and Constitutional Justice in the Modern World” was organised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania in co-operation with the Venice Commission and took place in Vilnius on 11–14 September 2017.
The 4th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (WCCJ) in Vilnius has received record interest. It was attended by representatives from the constitutional justice institutions of 91 different countries of the world. Among them, there were representatives from 85 members of the WCCJ and 2 constitutional justice institutions that were not members of this organisation, delegations from the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the General Court of the European Union, as well as other guests. In total, this event in Vilnius has attracted 422 participants and guests.
The participants had an opportunity to discuss the topic of the 4th Congress in 5 separate sessions, each of which had a different subtopic:
1) The different concepts of the rule of law;
2) New challenges to the rule of law;
3) The law and the state;
4) The law and the individual;
5) Independence of Constitutional Courts – Stocktaking.
The representatives of constitutional justice institutions from various countries have discussed the diversity of the concepts of the rule of law in different states, the role of constitutional courts in ensuring the rule of law, the protection of human constitutional rights, and the independence of constitutional courts.
The discussions at the 4th Congress on the independence of constitutional courts showed that a number of courts had come under pressure from the executive and the legislative powers of their respective countries, but also from the media. This generally occurs when courts render decisions that displease other state powers or political actors. Several courts have been subjected to fierce and unfair criticism.