Dr Oliver Hartwich: Using Orbán tactics to purge opponents is wrong way to clean up Hungary

Ask a well-informed European to name the Council of Europe's constitutional advisory body, and you will usually get a pause. I had to look it up myself last week, which is awkward for a Europe columnist, and worse for one with a doctorate in law.

It is called the Venice Commission, created in May 1990, six months after the Berlin Wall came down. Its founding resolution gave it the job of providing emergency constitutional aid to states in transition.