1 June, 2023
On 1 June this year, Acting Chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Serhiy Holovaty participated in the XXX Congress of the International Federation of European Law (FIDE), held in Sofia (Republic of Bulgaria).
At the opening ceremony of the Congress, Serhiy Holovaty delivered a keynote speech entitled „Slaying the Rabid Leviathan: Ukraine’s Quest for the Rule of Law, Muscovite Recidivism and Its Impact on European Values“.
Welcoming addresses at the Congress were also delivered by Alexander Arabadjiev, President of FIDE 2021-2023, President of the First Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Rumen Radev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, Marc van der Woude, President of the General Court of the European Union.
The Congress was attended by the President and Judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the President and Judges of the General Court of the European Union, Pavlina Panova, the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria, and prominent legal experts from the EU Member States. Another keynote speaker at the 2023 Congress was Mr. Guy Verhofstadt, Member of the European Parliament, Co-Chair of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
For reference. FIDE was founded in 1961. The congresses organised by the Federation are considered to be one of the most prominent and well-respected events on EU law and are recognised as a unique and influential forum that brings together highly qualified judges, lawyers and academics from across Europe and beyond to discuss and, often, even shape the European legal order.
Over the past 60 years, FIDE congresses have garnered attention from highly distinguished patrons, both at the EU and national levels. For instance, at the 2018 FIDE Congress, Michel Barnier, Chief negotiator in charge of the preparation and conduct of negotiations with the UK under Article 50 TEU, gave the keynote address, and at the 2021 FIDE Congress, Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission, delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony. In addition, heads of State, ministers and members of national parliaments also regularly attend FIDE congresses.
The holding of the biennial congress is FIDE’s most important event, which is attended by around 500 legal practitioners from all EU Member States, the UK and EFTA Member States, comprising national constitutional and supreme court judges, experienced lawyers from the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, as well as many lawyers from private practice and academics.
The focus of this year’s Congress is on the constitutional identity of the European Union, its economic model and social dimension. Therefore, the three key topics of the FIDE Congress 2023 are as follows:
- Mutual trust, mutual recognition and the rule of law.
- The new geopolitical dimension of the EU’s competition and trade policy.
- The European Social Union.
More information about the FIDE can be found here: https://www.fide-europe.org/.
