Banning display of Russian army symbols in Republic of Moldova is “legitimate” says Venice Commission, among other opinions

CoE/Venice Commission

Opinions published by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission include one on banning, in the Republic of Moldova, the display of symbols used by Russia’s army during its aggression against Ukraine. The legal and constitutional experts determined that a measure adopted by the Moldovan Parliament in April 2022 to ban the display of certain symbols used by Russian armed forces during the invasion of Ukraine “respects the requirements of legality, legitimacy and proportionality.”

For Belarus, meanwhile, the Venice Commission says that recent constitutional amendments disregard democratic principles and “fail to correct the strong imbalance of powers” in the country. Reflecting its global reach, the Venice Commission also published an opinion on draft constitutional amendments to the electoral system in Mexico. These and other texts and opinions on Andorra, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, adopted during the closed plenary session from 21 to 22 October, are available on the Venice Commission website.

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