In a debate held during the 32nd session, on 28 March 2017, the Congress spoke of the status of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in domestic legal systems. As an international treaty ratified by the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, the Charter has legal force and should be directly applied in domestic legal systems. Prepared by Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG) and Leendert Verbeek (Netherlands, SOC), the report mentions recurring issues identified by the Congress during missions to assess implementation of the Charter between 2010 and 2016 and which are mainly due to the refusal to apply the Charter directly. Most of these recurring issues were also highlighted in the comparative analysis on the implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Council of Europe member states, presented during the same debate by the co-rapporteurs Karim Van Overmeire (Belgium) and Xavier Cadoret (France, SOC).  

More information
Report CG32(2017)19
Report CG32(2017)22
Video of the debate
Interview with Mr.Stewart Dickson
Interview with Mr.Leendert Verbeek
File: 32nd Session of the Congress