Monday, 3 May 2010

13.30-15.30

Introduction

Welcome addresses:

-   Prof. Ernst Mohr, Rector of the University of St Gallen

-    Mr Josef Keller, President of the Government of the Canton of St      Gallen

Key note speech by Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey, Chair of the Committee of Ministers (30’)

Opening session:

-     Mr Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe (8’)

-     Mr Mevlüt Çavusoglu, President of the Parliamentary Assembly (8’) (tbc)

-     Mr Ian Micallef, President a.i. of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (8’)

-     Mr Jean-Marie Heydt, President of the Conference of INGOs (8’)

-     Mr Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission (8’)

Moderator: Prof. Bernhard Ehrenzeller, University of St Gallen

15.30-16.00

Question and answer session

16.00-16.30

Break

16.30-18.30

First plenary session

Chair: Mr Theo Maissen, Councillor of States, Swiss Parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe (Switzerland)

Keynote speech (30’): Prof. Wolf Lepenies, Berlin (Germany)

Round table: «Strengthening democracy through decentralisation»

Moderator: Mr Markus Spillmann, chief editor of the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" (Switzerland)

Participants:

-     Mr Arnold Koller, former Federal Councillor (Switzerland)

-     Mr Patxi Lopez, President of the Autonomous Government of the Basque Country (Spain)

-     Mr Jerzy Stepien, Former President and Judge of the Constitutional Tribunal (Poland) (tbc)

-     Mr Erwin Teufel, former Minister President of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

20.30

Dinner hosted by the Government of the Canton of St Gallen, Pfalzkeller

Tuesday, 4 May 2001

9.30-13.00

Pause entre

11.00-11.30

Workshop N°1:
Subsidiarity : Legal Principle or Political Slogan?

Chair: Mr Dick Marty, Councillor of States, Tessin (Switzerland)

Scientific coordinator: Prof. Rainer J. Schweizer, University of St Gallen

Rapporteur: Prof. Christoph Grabenwarter, Judge at the Constitutional Court, member of the Venice Commission (Austria)

Participants:

-     Prof. Andrea Biondi, King’s College, London (United Kingdom)

-     Mr Jean-Claude van Cauwenberghe, former Minister President of the Walloon region, former rapporteur on regionalisation in Europe, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (Belgium)

-     Mr Andreas Gross, National Councillor, Zurich (Switzerland)

-     Prof. Francesco Merloni, President of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government, University of Perugia (Italy)

-     Mr Keith Whitmore, Chair of the Institutional Committee, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (United Kingdom)

Workshop N°2:

Decentralisation in Multi-Ethnic States

Chair: Mr Dario Ghisletta, Head of the Swiss Delegation to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Bellinzona (Switzerland)

Scientific coordinator: Prof. Christoph Frei, University of St Gallen

Rapporteur:
Prof. Jean-Claude Scholsem, University of Liège, substitute member of the Venice Commission (Belgium)

Participants:

-     Prof. Giorgi Khubua, Rector of the University of Tbilisi (Georgia)

-     Mr Karl-Heinz Lambertz, Chairman of the Commission on Culture and Education and of the Working Group on Interregional Cooperation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Prime Minister of the German-speaking Community of Belgium (Belgium)

-     Prof. Joseph Marko, Director of the Centre for South East European Studies, University of Graz (Austria)

-     Prof. Francesco Palermo, Office of the OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities

-     Prof. Ivan Volodin, Russian State University of Social Sciences, Moscow, member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Russian Federation)

Workshop N°3:
Proper Resources and Autonomy in Budget Management

Chair: Ms Doris Fiala, National Councillor, Zurich (Switzerland)

Scientific coordinator: Prof. Gebhard Kirchgässner, University of St Gallen

Rapporteur: Prof. Hans-Heinrich Vogel, former member of the Venice Commission (Sweden)

Participants:

-     Prof. Charles B. Blankart, Humboldt University of Berlin (tbc)

-     Prof. Bernard Dafflon, University of Fribourg (Switzerland)

-     Prof. Ken Davey, University of Birmingham (United Kingdom)

-     Prof. Lars Feld, University of Heidelberg (Germany)

-     Dr. Alexander Libman, Russian Academy of Sciences (Russian Federation)

Workshop N°4:
Referendum at Regional and Municipal Level

Chair: Ms Kathrin Hilber, Member of the Government of the Canton of St Gallen

Scientific coordinator: Prof. Daniele Caramani, University of St Gallen

Rapporteur: Prof. Jean-Claude Colliard, member of the Venice Commission, President of the University of Paris 1, Panthéon–Sorbonne (France)

Participants:

-     Prof. anna gamper, member of the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government (Austria)

-     XXX (Sweden)

-     Prof. Gérard Marcou, Director of GRALE, University of Paris 1, Panthéon–Sorbonne (France)

-     Prof. Arne Marjan Mavcic, Faculty for State and European Studies, Brdo (Slovenia)

-     Dr. Peter Neumann, Director "Institut für Sachunmittelbare Demokratie", Technical University of Dresden (Germany)

13.00-14.30

Lunch (Buffet)

14.30-16.00

Plenary session

Moderator : Prof. Bernhard Ehrenzeller, University of St Gallen

Report of the rapporteurs (40’)

Awarding of prize to two students (30')

by Prof. Dirk Lehmkuhl, University of St Gallen

and statement by two students

Conclusions: Ambassador Paul Widmer, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Council of Europe (10’)