Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere (New Unity) has requested that the Venice Commission provide an accelerated opinion on Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, in order to independently assess the legal implications of such a step both at the national and international level. The assessment would include how the decision might affect Latvia’s international obligations and its position within the Council of Europe’s human rights protection system, the Ministry of Justice (TM) informed the LETA news agency.
The minister has also called on the authors of the withdrawal initiative to await and take into account the Commission’s opinion before submitting the respective draft law for its first reading in the Saeima.
Lībiņa-Egnere stressed that, if Latvia were to denounce the convention, it would become the only EU member state ever to unilaterally withdraw from a Council of Europe convention that provides for fundamental rights protection.
“Therefore, I believe that an authoritative and independent assessment of the legal consequences is necessary before Latvia takes such an unprecedented step that could potentially undermine the integrity of the Council of Europe’s common legal space,” the minister explained.
Among other things, the Venice Commission has been asked to provide its opinion on whether such a step—although formally permissible and justified by state sovereignty—would conflict with the principles of democracy and the rule of law.
The Commission has also been asked to evaluate whether withdrawal would endanger the unity
and authority of the Council of Europe’s human rights protection system.
Furthermore, the Commission is to assess whether Latvia’s national legal framework can ensure the same level of fundamental rights protection as guaranteed by participation in the convention. It is also asked to determine whether abandoning international monitoring mechanisms, including GREVIO, could negatively affect the level of human rights protection in Latvia.
In addition, the Commission has been asked to comment on whether claims by some proponents of withdrawal — that the convention allegedly carries an ideological character — are legally valid or substantiated reasons for denunciation.
The European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) comprises 61 member states. Its role is to provide legal support to its members by advising on the compliance of national legal and institutional structures with European standards and international best practices in the fields of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
As reported earlier,
a majority of Saeima deputies last Thursday supported a declaration
prepared by the National Alliance (NA), the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), and the United List (AS) — presented as an “alternative to the Istanbul Convention” — which these parties now intend to denounce.
At the end of September, instability in the governing coalition intensified following ZZS’s vote in the Saeima in favor of denouncing the Istanbul Convention.
In Latvia, the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence — commonly known as the Istanbul Convention — entered into force on the 1st of May, 2024.
This international treaty requires member states to develop coordinated policies to better protect women from all forms of violence, as well as both women and men from domestic violence.
Member states must ensure comprehensive assistance and protection for victims, including crisis centers, a 24-hour helpline, and specialized support centers for victims of sexual violence.
The convention also requires protection and support for children who are witnesses to violence.
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