Directorate General
Human Rights and
Rule of Law

Ministerial Conferences
   

High level Conferences on the Future
of the European Court of Human Rights

Brighton, United Kingdom, 18-20 April 2012
The United Kingdom organised, within the framework of the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, a high level conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights in Brighton. At the Interlaken (2010) and Izmir (2011) Conferences, the member States of the Council of Europe, while recognising the extraordinary contribution of the Court to the protection of human rights in Europe, agreed unanimously that reform of the Court is needed in order to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the Convention system. The aim of the Brighton Conference was to agree on a package of concrete reforms to ensure that the Court can be most effective for all 800 million citizens of Council of Europe member States.

Izmir, Turkey, 26-27 April 2011
The Izmir Conference pursued three main goals in the context of ensuring the effectiveness of the supervisory machinery set up by the European Convention on Human Rights and maintaining momentum in the efforts to achieve this. The first was to make a preliminary assessment of the impact of Protocol No. 14. The second was to take stock of what has been achieved by the reform process launched by the Interlaken conference in February 2010 and the third was to reflect upon further ideas for pursuing that reform.

Interlaken Ministerial Conference
Switzerland, 18-19 February 2010
 Despite the considerable efforts of the European Court of Human Rights to streamline internal procedures, its formidable caseload still threatens to paralyse the entire court system. In order to facilitate the reform of the Court, Switzerland hosted a ministerial conference of the 47 Council of Europe member states in Interlaken.

Council of Europe Conference of Ministers of Justice

In pursuing its statutory aim to achieve greater unity between its member states, notably in respect of Justice and the Rule of Law, the Council of Europe is constantly facing new challenges. Our societies are changing rapidly, and old answers are no longer satisfactory. In order to anticipate and address new developments, the Council of Europe periodically convenes Conferences at Ministerial level. In its 60 years of existence, the Organisation has held 30 Conferences of the Ministers of Justice of our member states. At the close of every conference, the Ministers decide on proposals for common action to make to the Governments of the Council of Europe.

Up-coming : 31st Conference Council of Europe Conference of Ministers of Justice

Responses of justice to urban violence
- Organised groups and their new ways of communicating
- Juveniles as perpetrators and victims

19-21 September 2012
Hofburg Congress Centre, Vienna, Austria

Conference file