The CDPC held its 87th plenary meeting from the 17 to 19 June 2025 in Strasbourg under the Chairmanship of Mr Fritz Zeder (Austria). The meeting was opened by Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, who addressed opening remarks.

The CDPC welcomed the adoption of the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law in May 2025. The Convention will be opened for signature on 3 December 2025 in Strasbourg. Delegations were encouraged to raise awareness of the instrument and consider steps toward signature and ratification.

The Committee also welcomed the forthcoming opening for signature of the Third Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, scheduled for 19 September 2025 in La Valletta. The Committee noted ongoing work by the Committee of Experts on the Operation of European Conventions on Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PC-OC) on mutual assistance confidentiality, transfer of sentenced persons, supervision of conditionally sentenced or released offenders, and the relationship between asylum procedures and extradition. It further underlined the importance of ensuring the applicability of Council of Europe instruments to core international crimes.

A principal item on the agenda was the Council of Europe’s work to counter the smuggling of migrants. Based on the CDPC feasibility report, the Committee of Ministers endorsed in February 2025 the proposal to develop a new legal instrument in the form of a Recommendation on deterring and fighting the smuggling of migrants (SoM) through legal means and other actions. A dedicated CDPC sub-committee (fully operational in 2026) will be tasked with preparing the draft Recommendation on this topic. The initiative builds on the Council of Europe Action Plan on Fostering International Co-operation and Investigative Strategies in Fighting the SoM (2021–2025). A technical conference on this topic, which will also include the annual meeting of the Council of Europe’s Network of Prosecutors on the SoM, will take place in Strasbourg on 21 October 2025.

Another milestone since the previous Plenary is the adoption by the Committee of Ministers of Recommendation CM/Rec(2025)2 on the promotion of the mental health of prisoners and probationers. The CDPC noted progress by the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) on the revision of Recommendation Rec(89)12 on education in prison and  Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)12 concerning foreign prisoners. The upcoming Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services will be held in Krakow on 24–25 September 2025.

The CDPC took note of the ongoing work of the Committee of Experts on Criminal Asset Recovery (PC-RAC) on a draft Additional Protocol supplementing the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism

The draft Recommendation to accountability for Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls is scheduled to be finalised in October 2025 and submitted for joint approval by the CDPC and the Gender Equality Commission in November.

The CDPC continued its deliberations on artificial intelligence and criminal liability. It agreed on the launch of a questionnaire to map national approaches and legal gaps, with results to guide future standard-setting in this area. Links to other intergovernmental services are ensured, particularly with the Committees working on AI, data protection and cybercrime. Coordination will be ensured for any further work the CDPC may undertake in in the field of cryptocurrencies this area

Finally, the CDPC also discussed developments in other areas of its mandate, including ongoing cooperation with the European Forum for Restorative Justice, and work related to Child-Friendly Justice, Medicrime, Trafficking in Human Organs, Drug Trafficking, Protection of Cultural Property, and Hate Crime. It underlined the importance of continued cross-sectoral cooperation and legal input into these topics.

The next CDPC plenary meeting will take place from 25 to 27 November 2025 in Strasbourg.

The Plenary meeting’s Agenda and the List of decisions are available on the CDPC website.