In 2008, The Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) held two meetings in order to examine topical questions of public international law, to exchange and, if appropriate, to co-ordinate the views of member States at the request of the Committee of Ministers, Steering Committees on its own initiative.

In its capacity as the European Observatory of Reservations to International Treaties, the CAHDI continued to examine outsanding reservations to international treaties concluded within and outside the Council of Europe.It has also co-coordinated the reactions of member States thereto and has listed the objections to the aforesaid outstanding reservations. The CAHDI further continued its consideration of possiblly problematic reservations to international treaties applicable to the fight against terrorism in the light of the list it had drawn up in pursuance of the Committee of Ministers' decision of 21 September 2001.

The CAHDI pursued its consideration of the state practice concerning state immunities and followed closely the pace of signatures and ratifications to the UN Convention on jurisdictional immunities of states and their property.

Furthermore, the CAHDI took note of cases before the European Court of Human Rights involving issues of public international law.

The CAHDI also closely followed the status of ratification of Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights and has, at the end of the year, received a request of the Committee of Ministers to consider the possibilities of putting provisionnally into practice certain procedures already envisaged in Protocol No. 14.

The CAHDI continued to develop its database on:

• State Practice regarding State Immunities,
• Implementation of UN Sanctions and respect for Human Rights (this database, originnally restricted, was made public in Decmber 2008),
• The Organisation and functions of the Office of the Legal Adviser (OLA) in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
• State Practice in the field of public international law (Digest).

The CAHDI also adopted comments on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1824 (2008) on "United Nations Security Council and European Union blacklists" and on Parliamnetary Assembly Recommendation 1842 (2008) on "Activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross" (ICRC).

The CAHDI further approved two draft Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers to member States respectively on the acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and on the nomination of international arbitrators and conciliators. These two Recommendations (Rec(2008) 8 and Rec(2008)9) were adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 2 Julyt 2008 (1031st meeting).

The CAHDI also adopted a report on the consequences of the so-called "disconnection clause" in international law in general and for Council of Europe conventions, containing such a clause, in particular. This analytical report contains important recommendations on the States parctices concerning those clauses. At its 1044th meeting on 10 December 2008 the Committee of Ministers took note of this report.

In 2008, the CAHDI further worked, inter alia, on the following areas:

• peaceful settlement of dispute,
• current issues of international humanitarian law,
• developments concerning the international criminal court (ICC),
• implementation and functioning of other international criminal tribunals (ICTY, ICTR, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Cambodia),
• the follow-up of the international conference "international courts and tribunals- the challenges ahead" (London, 6-7 October 2008),
• the follow-up of the outcome document of the 2005 UN World Summit and the promotion of the Rule of law at the international level,
• other topical issues of international law.

In 2008, the CAHDI also held exchanges of views with Mr. Nicolas Michel (March 2008) and Ms Patricia O'Brien (October 2008). At the moment of these exchanges of views, both adressed the CAHDI in their capacity of UN Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel.