Council of Europe

• Council of Europe
• Human Rights and Rule of Law
• Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH)

Strasbourg, 24 August 2012

GT-GDR-B(2012)OJ001

STEERING COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (CDDH)

______ DRAFTING GROUP ‘B’ ON THE REFORM OF THE COURT (GT-GDR-B)

______ 1st Meeting Strasbourg Wednesday 12 September (9.30 a.m.) – Friday 14 September 2012 (close of meeting: 1.00 p.m.) Agora, Meeting Room G05 ______

DRAFT ANNOTATED AGENDA _____

Item 1: Opening of the meeting, adoption of the agenda and order of business, and election of the Chairperson

General background documents

Information document

Once the meeting is declared open, in the absence of an elected Chairperson, by the Secretariat, the Group is invited to adopt the agenda and order of business.

The Group is then invited to elect its Chairperson, in accordance with the provisions of Committee of Ministers’ Resolution CM/Res(2011)24 on intergovernmental committees and subordinate bodies, their terms of reference and working methods.

Item 2: Terms of reference

Background document

The Group is invited briefly to exchange views on its terms of reference as outlined by the CDDH at its 73^rd meeting (6-9 December 2011), in the light also of the CDDH’s discussions at its 75^th meeting (19-22 June 2012).

Item 3: Draft Protocol No. 15

Working documents

Reference document

With a view to ensuring the most efficient use of meeting time, this item is separated into the various issues that Protocol No. 15 must address, as follows:

Item 3.1: Shortening to four months the time limit under Article 35(1) of the Convention within which an application must be made to the Court

The Group is invited to examine the elements prepared by the Secretariat further to the instruction given by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting.

Item 3.2: Amending Article 35(3)(b) of the Convention to remove the words “and provided that no case may be rejected on this ground which has not been duly considered by a domestic tribunal”

The Group is invited to examine the elements prepared by the Secretariat further to the instruction given by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting.

Item 3.3: Amending Article 30 of the Convention to remove the words “unless one of the parties to the case objects”

The Group is invited to examine the elements prepared by the Secretariat further to the instruction given by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting. In accordance with the terms of the Brighton Declaration, the Group should also consider whether any consequential changes are required.

Item 3.4: Amending Article 23(2) of the Convention to replace the age limit for judges by a requirement that judges must be no older than 65 years of age at the date on which their term of office commences

The Group is invited to examine the elements prepared by the Secretariat further to the instruction given by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting.

Item 3.5: Including a reference to the principle of subsidiarity and the doctrine of the margin of appreciation in the Preamble to the Convention

The Group is invited to examine the various proposals made by delegations further to the invitation made by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting.

Item 4: Draft Protocol No. 16

Working documents

Background documents

The Group is invited to examine the proposals made by the Dutch and Norwegian experts, along with any other contributions, further to the invitation made by the CDDH at its 75^th meeting.

Item 5: Organisation of future work

In the light of discussions under Items 2-4 above, the Group is invited to take decisions for the effective organisation of its future work, with a view to achieving the expected results according to the agreed timetable, which foresees completion by the CDDH of work on the two draft protocols by October 2012 (see doc. CDDH(2012)009REV.)

Item 6: Other business

Item 7: Adoption of the conclusions and meeting report

Working document

The Group is invited to adopt the final decisions of the meeting.