The panel started with a keynote speech of Alma Zadić, Federal Minister of Justice in Austria. The subsequent discussion underscored a shared consensus: judicial reform is both a fundamental precondition and a cornerstone of the EU accession process. As such, it requires a long-term perspective, regardless of the argument that countries in the Western Balkans waited too long for accession.

 

 

Claire Bazy-Malaurie, President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), emphasized the crucial role of the Venice Commission supporting the European Commission and countries itself in the process of judicial reform and development of a constitutional culture. She stressed that the reform only starts with drafting meaningful laws, a process that must be inclusive and follow all necessary steps. “It’s not a magic stick, but also, it must not be just a tick-the-box exercise“, she explained. Then the implementation must ensue, which takes time. She said that the EU found in the Venice Commission an expert body capable of both criticizing and assisting the European Commission.

 

 

Angelika Nussberger, Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, shed light on the unique challenges present in this country. She stressed the necessity of international judges to maintain stability and structure amidst ongoing reform efforts. Nussberger emphasized that for the time being, until a domestic consensus is reached, international judges remain crucial in upholding the constitutional framework. She also highlighted the value of the Venice Commission advisory opinions. “Legal reforms are slow, but they must not move in the opposite direction”, she concluded.

 

 

President of the Austrian Constitutional Court, Christoph Grabenwarter, shared his experience of communication with colleagues from the region: “If we talk about the development of the constitutional culture, we have to know that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. We sometimes expect younger states to develop very fast, while forgetting that for all the other European countries this was a multi-decade process”.  Additionally, he highlighted that a strong judiciary is a precondition for sustainability of a constitutional culture, which needs to grow in the minds of politicians, judges and citizens.

 

 

Mirjana Lazarova Trajkovska, Judge of the Supreme Court of North Macedonia, reflected on the mixed progress in judicial reforms, observing that while legislative changes have been made, their implementation often remains inadequate. In response to a question from the moderator, Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, Secretary General of the Austro-French Centre for Rapprochement in Europe (CFA/ÖFZ), about how to avoid the impression that the argument “it takes time” is used as an excuse for the prolonged EU integration process of the Western Balkans, she argued that political and business elites, as well as judges, must recognize that judicial reform is truly a long-term effort aimed at securing core values in these countries.