The conference and the 22nd meeting of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice (JCCJ) of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe took place in Zagreb, Croatia, on 21 and 22 May 2026. The event brought together liaison officers and representatives of constitutional courts and equivalent bodies to discuss key issues relating to constitutional justice and co-operation within the JCCJ.

The conference, held on 21 May, was dedicated to the “Future of Constitutional Complaint Mechanisms”. It was opened by Mr Frane Staničić, President of the Constitutional Court of Croatia, Ms Irēna Kucina, President of the Constitutional Court of Latvia and Co-Chair of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice, and Ms Simona Granata-Menghini, Director and Secretary of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

Participants exchanged views on admissibility reforms and filtering mechanisms, ways to balance access to justice with judicial efficiency, comparative models of constitutional complaint procedures, and the sustainability of individual complaint mechanisms.

During the 22nd JCCJ meeting on 22 May, liaison officers discussed the further development of the Venice Forum, recent opinions of the Venice Commission concerning constitutional justice, and other related issues. Mr Moussa Laraba, Secretary General of the Conference of African Constitutional Jurisdictions (CJCA), and Ms Cristina Titirișcă, representative of the Association of Francophone Constitutional Courts (ACCF), presented the activities of their respective associations.

Ms Vesna Božić Štajnpihler, Liaison Officer and Head of the Analysis and International Cooperation Department of the Constitutional Court of Slovenia, was elected Co-Chair of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice.

The next meeting of the Joint Council on Constitutional Justice will be hosted by the Constitutional Court of Latvia and will be held in Riga in 2027.