At its Plenary Session on 12-13 December, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe adopted its Updated Rule of Law Checklist (CDL-AD(2025)002). Building on the original 2016 Checklist, which has served as a key reference for assessing the state of the rule of law in countries, the updated version reflects new challenges, particularly those arising from technological changes, Rule of law regression and growing private sector influence.
The Updated Rule of Law Checklist incorporates limited changes to its main structure, which has been widely acknowledged as accurately defining the Rule of law. It however does now include checks and balances and constitutional review as specific benchmarks, highlighting their growing importance in the protection of the rule of law and preventing Rule of law back-sliding.
The process of updating the Checklist was launched in response to the Reykjavik Declaration, adopted at the 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (May 2023), which inter alia called for greater visibility of and support for the Checklist. In the course of this update a wide range of stakeholders were consulted, including the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights, different EU institutions, academia and civil society.
The Updated Rule of Law Checklist will continue to be regularly reviewed, ensuring that it remains relevant and responsive to evolving legal standards and societal developments.
