In 2020, the Venice Commission noted that considerable progress has been made in the last 25 years and a number of Council of Europe member States had reached the “balanced-gender-representation” minimum of 40%, but that the under-representation of women in many other national Parliaments in Europe must still be considered as problematic from a democratic and human rights perspective. In order to promote democracy and human rights in its member States, thus, “one of the Council of Europe’s priorities in the field of equality between women and men is to ensure a more balanced participation of both sexes in political and public decision-making (Rec(2003)3, Expl. memorandum, I C, 13).”