European Banner
Under its terms of reference, the CAHDI is instructed to "maintain contacts with lawyers and legal services of other entities or international organisations".

Numerous non-governmental and governmental organisations are granted participant status at the CAHDI:

  • The European Union;
  • States with observer status with the Council of Europe: Canada, Holy See, Japan, Mexico and United States of America;
  • The Hague Conference on Private International Law;
  • The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO);
  • The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;
  • The United Nations and its specialised agencies;
  • European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN);
  • International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL);
  • Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE);
  • The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC);
  • The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO).

Cooperation with the International Law Commission (ILC)

Under the terms of reference of the CAHDI, the Committee is asked to "deepen exchanges of views on the work of the International Law Commission and of the Sixth Committee".

The CAHDI and the ILC maintain regular contacts in order to exchange on the work undertaken by both institutions. Therefore, during the sessions of the ILC in Geneva, an exchange of views is held between the President of the CAHDI and the members of the ILC. The interventions of the President are available on the page of the website dedicated to the Presidency. At the meetings of the CAHDI following the sessions of the ILC, an item on the "work of the ILC and of the Sixth Committee" is included in the agenda. On this occasion, a member of the ILC presents the on-going work and holds an exchange of view with the members of the CAHDI.

Cooperation with the United Nations

The cooperation with the United Nations is primarily based on regular contacts and exchanges between the United Nations and the CAHDI, in particular by the presence of special guests at the meetings of the Committee. The CAHDI has welcomed several personalities:

  • Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel;
  • Mr Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs of the United Nations;
  • Mrs Kimberly Prost, Ombudsperson to the UN Security Council Committee set up under Resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaeda and the Taliban;
  • Mrs Patricia O'Brien, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel;
  • Mr Nicolas Michel, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel and former President of the CAHDI;
  • Mr Martin Scheinin, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Terrorism and Human Rights;
  • Mr Gerard Hafner, Chair of the Working Group of the United Nations General Assembly on Immunities of States and their Property;
  • Mr Palitha Kohona, Chief of the Treaty Section of the United Nations.

Cooperation with the European Union

The CAHDI conducts a follow-up of the European Union's accession to the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and has an observer at the negotiation meetings between the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) of the Council of Europe and the European Commission.

Several special guests attended CAHDI meetings and hold an exchange of views with the members of the Committee:

  • Mr Luis Romero Requena, Director General of the Legal Department at the European Commission;
  • Mr Jean-Claude Bonichot, Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU);
  • Mr Allan Rosas, President of Chamber, member of the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ).