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On Friday, 1 March 2024, Riga hosted an international conference organised by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia to mark the 20th anniversary of Latvia's membership in the European Union. The theme of the meeting was “The Role of the Constitutional Courts in Concretising the Shared Values Uniting Europe”. In a broader perspective, this topic touches upon the phenomenon of national constitutional identities and their relationship to values intrinsic to the EU.

The values of democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights are among the unquestionable foundations on which the European Union stands. At the same time, according to Article 4(2) of the Treaty on European Union, "The Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental structures, political and constitutional, inclusive of regional and local self-government. It shall respect their essential State functions, including ensuring the territorial integrity of the State, maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security. In particular, national security remains the sole responsibility of each Member State."

The search for a balance between the protection of national constitutional identity on the one hand, and the protection of the shared values of the EU and its members on the other, is the subject of many academic articles and in the same time a practical legal question that arises not only before national courts, but also before the EU Court of Justice and, more generally, before the European Court of Human Rights. The participants of the conference discussed their views on the topic from different perspectives and stressed, among others things, the necessity of a mutual open and rational dialogue between national and supranational courts.

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic was represented at this international conference by Vice-President Kateřina Ronovská, who can draw on her extensive experience in academia when participating in international events.

Pavel Dvořák
Head of External Relations and Protocol Department