President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirsad Ćeman and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mato Tadić, are attending the 4th Congress of the World Conference on Constitutional Justice, which is being held in Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania on the general topic “The Rule of Law and Constitutional Justice in the Modern World” from 11 to 14 September 2017.
The rule of law is prominent multifaceted and uniquely structured constitutional principle characteristic for modern legal systems. Principle of the rule of law constitutes the cornerstone of every legal system in the modern world. As a fundamental constitutional principle, it requires that the law be based on certain universal values, thus it is essentially inherent in every constitutional issue.
The prevalent modern concept of the rule of law refers to the “governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards”. The European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) identified common core elements of the Rule of Law, which are legality, including a transparent, accountable and democratic process for enacting laws, legal certainty, the prohibition of arbitrariness, access to justice before an independent and impartial court, including judicial review of administrative acts, respect for human rights as well as non-discrimination and equality before the law.
The constitutional courts and equivalent bodies are the predominant guardians of the legal order based on the supremacy of law and the constitution as the supreme law. Constitutional courts (or equivalent institutions), within the framework of their constitutional competence, ensure the respect for and the implementation of national constitutions and have a strong influence on shaping the content of the principle of the rule of law. Many different aspects of this principle are revealed in constitutional justice cases. The impact of constitutional justice in strengthening the state under the rule of law and ensuring the defence of individual rights is essential as is the interest to explore it.
A permanent dialogue on the rule of law and on the implementation of this principle contributes to the strengthening of common constitutional values throughout the world. In the majority of countries, certain constitutional values may be perceived in a similar way, whereas the understanding of others may differ eminently. Nonetheless, the on-going processes of global integration in the modern world contributes to the common understanding of constitutional values and, consequently, their transformation into universal ones.
The topic chosen for the 4th Congress of the World Conference provides an opportunity to discuss different aspects of this principle, which despite its unchanging core elements, is constantly evolving and unfolding.
The 4th Congress offers the possibility for participants to share different experiences on the rule of law and prepare for new challenges in the field of constitutional justice. Constitutional case-law reveals the issues that challenge or, in some circumstances, threaten the rule of law. Constitutional justice institutions would therefore benefit from looking into the problems raised by the topic of the 4th Congress.
The general topic is sub-divided into four parts to be discussed as follows: “The different concepts of the rule of law”, “New challenges to the rule of law”, “The law and the state”, “The law and the individual”.
President Ćeman and Vice-President Tadić are taking active part in the work of the 4th Congress both within the main program as well as outside of it, numerous meetings and talks with colleagues, Presidents, Vice-Presidents, judges and experts from the entire world attending the Congress in Vilnius.
