Recent developments in responding to rule of law threats in Europe – new responses by the European Commission and the Venice Commission

Abstract: This thesis assesses two relatively new rule of law tools of two regional organisations in Europe – the European Union with the new EU Framework for strengthening the rule of law, and the Venice Commission with a new rule of law checklist, and puts them in relation with a concrete case. The rule of law is a principle worth safeguarding at any time, but its relevance increases as it is being questioned and threatened. Regional organisations provide expertise that is somewhat detached from national political discourses, and has a higher chance of addressing national rule of law issues in an unbiased way. The rule of law is commonly referred to, but it is seldom defined. Therefore, the first section of this thesis is devoted to giving conceptual meaning and historical context to the rule of law. The following two sections addresses how the rule of law is defined in each organisation, and in relation with two recent tools for combating rule of law threats. The fourth section demonstrates how the European Union and the Council of Europe (foremost via the Venice Commission) are implementing these tools in a concrete case - the Polish Constitutional crisis. With best practices identified, the fifth and last section is a proposal on how to build a step forward. In this thesis, it will become clear that the European Union and the Council of Europe conceives the rule of law as a substantive concept and part of a bigger ‘package’ together with democracy and human rights.