Reports of the Venice Commission on Federalism

Review. The article provides an overview of little-known in the Russian science of Constitutional Law case studies and reports of the European Commission for democracy through law (Venice Commission) on federalism. The author focuses on relevant studies and reports made by the Venice Commission prior to the entry of the Russian Federation into its structure (2001). The article presents reports of 20-21 June 1997 on the Federal and regional authorities; of 10-11 December 1999 on "Self-determination and secession in constitutional law; of 10-11 December 1999 on "Federal and regional entities and international treaties"; of 13-14 October 2000 on "The General legal framework facilitating the settlement of ethnopolitical conflicts in Europe" and Final Report of March 21, 2014 on the Crimean referendum. The overall conclusion was the provision that the Venice Commission has contributed to the study of issues of federalism, which in modern conditions are particularly relevant: the model of unitary State gradually loses its dominant role as expanding the powers of the regions, not only in federal but in unitary countries. This tendency is a characteristic of constitutional development in recent years. The Venice Commission findings identified common features of federalism and outlined the variety and complexity of its constitutional forms.

The Venice Commission, federalism, thematic reports, federal, regional authorities, self-determination, secession, ethnopolitical conflict, regulation, the Crimean referendum

1. Венецианская комиссия о конституциях, конституционных поправках и конституционном правосудии / под ред. Т.Я. Хабриевой. - М., 2015.

2. Венецианская комиссия: сто шагов к демократии через право / под ред. Т.Я. Хабриевой, В.И. Лафитского. - М., 2014.

3. Томсинов В.А. Международное право с точки зрения воссоединения Крыма с Россией // Законодательство. - 2014. - № 7.