On cover & title page: Collection

This volume includes the reports presented at the seminar on "European standards of electoral law in contemporary constitutionalism" organised by the Venice Commission in co-operation with the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria in Sofia (Bulgaria), on 28 and 29 May 2004. Electoral law and co-operation with constitutional courts and courts of equivalent jurisdiction have been two of the main areas of the activities of the Venice Commission since its creation in 1990. The reports cover such fundamental issues as the advantages and shortcomings of different electoral systems, the case law of higher national courts on electoral disputes, the participation of foreigners in the electoral process at the local level, the electoral rights of individuals having the citizenship of other European countries and the possible development of electoral law within the European Union.

What role do the people play in defining and developing human rights?This volume explores the very topical issue of the lack of democratic legitimisation of national and international courts and the question of whether rendering the original process of defining human rights more democratic at the national and international level would improve the degree of protection they afford.The authors venture to raise the crucial question: When can a democratic society be considered to be mature enough so as to be trusted to provide its own definition of human rights obligations?

Based on questionnaires completed 1996/97 by 15 (mostly European) states