Judges and legal practitioners from constitutional courts of Council of Europe member States, the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the Venice Commission, convened on 24 April in Chisinau to discuss the evolving role of constitutional courts in facing the challenges that digital transformation poses to constitutional democracy and the rule of law.

The international conference entitled "The Future of the 'Marketplace of Ideas' amid the Rise of the Internet, Fake News and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges for the Constitutional Courts” took place in the context of the Republic of Moldova's Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

In their opening remarks, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova, the President of the Republic of Moldova, the Director for Programme Co-ordination at the Council of Europe, and the Vice-President of the Venice Commission, mentioned the importance of safeguarding the pluralism of ideas and the information space grounded in democratic values, adequately regulating digital platforms, maintaining the right balance between freedom of expression and efforts to counter disinformation and harmful speech, and strengthening judicial dialogue and cooperation in addressing the challenges generated by the digital environment. The Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights further examined in her keynote speech the legal challenges posed by artificial intelligence from the perspective of the Court's mandate, legal doctrine and case-law.

The Director for Programme Co-ordination of the Council of Europe, Claus Neukirch underlined that the discussion has been particularly relevant for the Republic of Moldova; “The country continues to advance on its path of democratic consolidation and European integration, while facing complex and often unprecedented challenges, including disinformation, foreign information manipulation and interference, and pressure on institutional integrity.”

The Vice President of the Venice Commission, Timothy Otty, briefed participants about the updated Rule of Law Checklist, adopted in December 2025, as an essential framework to ground all responses to the challenges arising from digital technologies and artificial intelligence on the principles of legality, legal certainty, prevention of abuse of powers, checks and balances, equality and non-discrimination, and access to justice.

The exchanges between participants focused on courts’ engagement with platforms, algorithms and artificial intelligence, as well as the impact of such engagement in the future of constitutional adjudication itself.

The international conference was organised under the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova in partnership with the European Union within the framework of the joint project "Support for Justice Reform in the Republic of Moldova,” which reflects a shared commitment to supporting the Republic of Moldova in strengthening its institutions, advancing reforms, and fully aligning with European standards.