News 2017
Luxembourg ratified the Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (CETS No. 213).
Luxembourg ratified the European Convention for the protection of the Audiovisual Heritage (ETS No. 183).
The Bahamas signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as amended by the 2010 Protocol (ETS No.127).
Regional conference in Minsk on Appeal in the criminal justice systems
Challenges to the introduction of the institute of appeal in criminal proceedings were discussed on 19 December 2017 in Minsk, Belarus, by the representatives of the judiciaries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Council of Europe experts. The interregional conference...
Fake news and fractured trust
At the 2017 Internet Governance Forum (@intgovforum, 17-21 December in Geneva), the Council of Europe contributes to a high-level panel tackling the effects of digitized information on politics, public trust and democracy – and will stress the importance of sustained digital literacy to counter...
IGF2017: Open Forum on internet intermediaries
On 18 December 2017, the Council of Europe is organising an event during the Internet Governance Forum in Geneva, entitled Open Forum: Internet intermediaries – shared commitments and corporate responsibility. The open forum will focus on dialogue with internet intermediaries concerning...
Cooperation between the Council of Europe and Fundamental Rights Agency
A key partner of Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the Council of Europe is an observer of the Management Board. The 28th Management Board of the FRA was an opportunity to underline the substantive cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Agency in promoting and protecting rights across...
CPT holds high-level talks in Albania
The main objective was to discuss the situation of forensic psychiatric patients and mentally-ill prisoners at Zaharia Special Facility for Ill Inmates in Kruja and the Prison Hospital in Tirana, in the light of the findings of previous visits by the CPT, and the implementation of the CPT’s...
Presentation of the first Commentary of the ECHR in Serbian
Discrepancies in national judicial practice may affect legal certainty and lead to the unpredictability of the application of legal norms by national courts. Diverging interpretations given by different courts in similar cases create confusion for the parties and diminish the confidence the...
Two HELP courses launched in the Republic of Moldova
Two courses of the European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) of the Council of Europe were launched in the Republic of Moldova within the framework of the project "Support to Criminal Justice Reforms" implemented by the Council of Europe. The HELP course on...
Congratulations to Mexico for being invited to accede to Convention 108!
The Committee of Ministers (1302nd bis meeting of 13 December 2017) agreed to the request of Mexico to be invited to accede to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS No. 108) and to its additional Protocol (CETS No. 181). Mexico...
Council of Europe anti-corruption body to carry out urgent evaluations of new legislation concerning the judiciary in Romania and Poland
During its plenary meeting, held from 4 to 8 December, the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) decided to carry out ad hoc urgent evaluations of the draft laws concerning the judiciary in Romania, and on two draft laws on the reorganisation of the Supreme Court and of the...
Significant achievements for CDMSI 2016-2017 mandate
The Steering Committee in Media and Information Society (CDMSI) held its 13th and last meeting under the current mandate from 5 to 8 December 2017 in Strasbourg. It ends its 2016-2017 mandate with two draft recommendations and three studies on topical and important issues: a draft recommendation...
International Human Rights Day
“Today we celebrate the International Human Rights Day. Respect for human rights has advanced significantly since the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948. The Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights have been instrumental in protecting the human rights...
Venice Commission: Elections
In its final plenary session, on 8-9 December, the Council of Europe's European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) elected its president and vice presidents to two-year terms. Re-elected President for the fourth time in a row, Gianni Buquicchio (Italy) has presided over the...
International Day against Corruption and Venice Commission
Mr Marin Mrčela, Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) President, addressed the Venice Commission on 9 December 2017, welcoming the strong cooperation between GRECO and the Venice Commission and stressing the importance for this cooperation to continue and grow. Speech by Marin Mrčela,...
Venice Commission tackles Polish judicial reforms and Ukrainian education law, among other issues
In an opinion on Poland adopted today, the Council of Europe’s Commission for Democracy through Law (“Venice Commission”) found that the cumulative effect of proposed reforms to two laws and recently adopted amendments to a third law “puts at serious risk” the independence of “all parts” of the...
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