Prague, Czech Republic
23 September 2020

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Legal and Consular Section/International Law Department) decided to organise a half-day expert seminar for the members of the Council of Europe Ad Hoc Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) on the margins of its 59th meeting in Prague. Although the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is a judicial body and CAHDI an inter-governmental expert committee, in substance, they have both dealt over time with important questions of public international law, be it treaty interpretation, state responsibility, international humanitarian law or application of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. The seminar provided an opportunity for an informal discussion among legal advisers on the case law of the ECtHR and its possible contribution to the development of public international law.

This seminar was opened by Mr Petr Válek, Director of the International Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Chair of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI).

PROGRAMME

Interventions

  • Mr Linos-Alexander Sicilianos, Judge and former President of the ECtHR

Interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights: Remarks on the Court’s Approach

  • Prof. Pavel Šturma , Chairman of the International Law Commission and Professor of Public International Law at the Charles University Law School in Prague (Czech Republic)

The Issues of State Responsibility before the ECtHR

  • Prof. Georg Nolte , Member of the ILC and Professor of Public International Law at the Humboldt University Law School in Berlin (Germany)

The European Court of Human Rights and the Sources of International Law

  • Ms Julie Tenenbaum , Regional Legal Adviser, International Committee of the Red Cross

Application of IHL by the ECtHR

  • Ms Alina Orosan , Director General for Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania

The UNSC Sanctions vs. the European Convention on Human Rights

  • Mr Helmut Tichy , Legal Adviser, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria

The Impact of the ECHR on Austria’s Practice as Host State of International Organisations

  • Ambassador Emil Ruffer , former Chair of the Committee of Ministers’ Rapporteur Group on Legal Co-operation, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Council of Europe

Concluding remarks