CoE secretary general asks Venice Commission to assess legality of referendum in Crimea

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland has asked the Venice Commission to assess the legality of the referendum in Crimea and the Russian State Duma's decision on Crimea's possible annexation to Russia.

"I asked the Venice Commission to prepare an expert opinion regarding the legality of the planned referendum in Crimea and express an opinion on the legality of the Russian State Duma's decision regarding the possible annexation to the Russian Federation of the territory of another country," he said at a joint briefing with Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk in Kyiv on Monday.

Jagland also noted that the Council of Europe was ready to give Ukraine the best expert on constitutional issues so that he could consult Ukrainian lawyers in Kyiv.

He said that the Council of Europe's monitoring group could have supervised the investigation of human rights violations, including the mass killing of peaceful demonstrators in Kyiv.

"We are talking about an international council of experts who could have been able to control the process of the investigation and establishment of justice in relation to people whose rights have been violated," Jagland said.

He said that the expert panel could begin its work soon.