MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th May, 2020) The European Commission for Democracy through Law, or the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, told Sputnik on Friday that it received a request from the council's Monitoring Committee for an opinion on the constitutional amendments and the procedure for their adoption in Russia.
Earlier in the day, the commission's website said that the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe � the Monitoring Committee � decided at an online meeting on Wednesday to request the opinion.
A representative of the Venice Commission told Sputnik that they received the request today but did not specified when exactly the commission would begin to prepare the opinion.
According to data obtained by Sputnik, the commission does not plan to start preparing in June � when the summer session is set to take place � the opinion requested in late May. The current request will be the second for this year.
In January, the commission's secretariat told Sputnik that it was ready to assist the Russian authorities in implementing plans to amend the country's constitution. In march, media reported that the commission would unveil at a June session the opinion on the amendments, in particular, on the priority of decisions of the Russian Constitutional Court over decisions of international courts.
Amendments to the fundamental law aim to develop provisions that enshrine the foundations of the constitutional system, human and civil rights and freedoms and impose new requirements on president, ministers and various officials. They also stipulate social guarantees and change parliament's authority, among other things. Moreover, they allow the incumbent president to seek re-election in 2024.
