Membership To International Organizations

Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum

About

A memorandum of understanding was signed on 27 October 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria for the establishment of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum with the aim of strengthening the cooperation among constitutional judicial bodies in the Balkan countries, which serve as guardians of constitutional values and guarantors of democracy and human rights, as well as forming a platform for discussing current issues and exchanging good practices in terms of constitutional justice. Having signed the memorandum of understanding, the Constitutional Courts of Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Türkiye became the founding members of the Forum.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Forum is headed by the Constitutional Court of Bulgaria.

Second Conference of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum

The Second Conference of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum was held in Pristina, Kosovo, on 23-25 October 2024. President of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Kadir Özkaya, Member Mr. Muhterem İnce, and Chief Rapporteur-Judge Mr. Volkan Has participated in the event. Among those who participated in the Conference were also representatives from the Constitutional Courts of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, as well as representatives from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Venice Commission, the World Law Foundation, and the World Jurist Association.

During the Conference, discussions focused on drafting the Forum’s Statute, thereby transforming it into a union; expanding membership to include new countries; and holding the next Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, in October 2025.

Congresses

2023 – The First Conference of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum was hosted by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria on 27 October 2023 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Conference focused on access to constitutional justice and was attended by the representatives from constitutional courts of Balkan countries, as well as the CJEU, the ECHR, and the European Commission. Vice-President of the Turkish Constitutional Court Mr. Hasan Tahsin Gökcan, Member Mr. Muammer Topal, and Rapporteur-Judge Mr. Ali Erdem Şahin participated in the event.

At the end of the meeting, the “Memorandum of Understanding for Establishment of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum” was signed.

Full members of the Forum are the Constitutional Courts of Albania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Türkiye, while observers are the Constitutional/Supreme Courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, and Romania.

Click here for the Memorandum of Understanding for Establishment of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum.