Opinions & Interviews

Venice Commission representative describes Belarusians as very kind, hospitable

MINSK, 31 May (BelTA) – As Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko met with heads of constitutional courts of other countries on 31 May First Vice President of the Venice Commission Herdis Kjerulf Thorgeirsdottir shared her impressions of Belarus and recalled her famous compatriot, part of whose life was connected with Belarus, BelTA has learned.

Herdis Kjerulf Thorgeirsdottir noted: “It is a great honor for me to be here. I am particularly grateful to you for words of support and the words of welcome to participants of the international conference on modern trends in constitutionalization and the role of constitutional review. In your welcome speech you mentioned the importance of sharing experience in protecting constitutional values.”

In her opinion, good relations have evolved between the Venice Commission and the Constitutional Court of Belarus. “And it is a great pleasure for us to be here in order to together celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Constitutional Court,” the Venice Commission first vice president stressed.

She stated that the conference had been very well organized and had become very dynamic.

Herdis Kjerulf Thorgeirsdottir said that she had been to Belarus three times already. The first time was 15 years ago. She noted she had had an opportunity to have interesting conversations with a large number of people and confirmed that Belarusians are truly very kind and hospitable. “They have excellent negotiation skills,” she added.

Since Herdis Kjerulf Thorgeirsdottir is a native of Iceland, she mentioned that more than one thousand years ago one of her compatriots visited Belarus. Thorvald Kodransson was a legendary Christian missionary and traveler, a founder of Saint John the Baptist’s monastery in Polotsk.

The international conference “Modern constitutional development: The role of the constitutional review in constitutionalization of law” is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Constitutional Court of Belarus. The conference is taking place in Minsk on 30-31 May. Multiple foreign guests and experts are taking part in the conference.

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