The President of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors, Mr Antonio Vercher Noguera (Spain), presented today to the Committee of Ministers the CCPE’s work and activities since February 2020 and its priorities for the future.

The President underlined the impact of CCPE’s standards in creating a conducive legal and institutional framework for prosecutors, but also for other legal professionals and policy makers. He informed the Committee of Ministers about CCPE’s latest Opinions, such as Opinion No. 15 (2020) on the role of prosecutors in emergency situations and Opinion No. 16 (2021) on implications of decisions of international courts and treaty bodies as regards the practical independence of prosecutors and its forthcoming Opinion No. 17 (2022) on the role of prosecutors in the protection of the environment, which is expected to be adopted on 4 October 2022.

His presentation was followed by an exchange of views with the Ambassadors of the member and observer States of the Council of Europe. Topics discussed related to the Council of Europe’s possible future actions regarding strengthening the independence and autonomy of prosecutors, building on the conclusions of the European Conference of Prosecutors (Palermo, 5-6 May 2022); considering the elaboration of new binding standards on environment and human rights, how to ensure an effective continuity of prosecutors’ work in times of emergency and war, and international co-operation to support processes for prosecuting war crimes and ensuring accountability.