Council of Europe:Council of Europe:The “Other” European OrganizationThe “Other” European Organization

Duncan Alford

Princeton University Library

COE - BackgroundCOE - Background

International organization created by treatyBegan in 1949Original members – Belgium, Denmark,

France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, UK

Currently 45 members– All EU members and accession countries

Goals of the COEGoals of the COE

Achieve greater unity among its membersSafeguard the ideals and principles of their

common heritageDefend human rights, parliamentary

democracy and the rule of lawCreate a common legal spaceTools used include treaties, conventions,

and agreements

Major Policy AreasMajor Policy Areas

Human RightsAnimalsBioethicsCultural AffairsEconomic Affairs and DevelopmentEnvironmentSocial and Public Health

What the COE is NotWhat the COE is Not

The Council of Europe is NOT the EUSeparate, distinct organizations with

separate institutionsEU has 15 members, soon to be 25COE has 45 members

Reasons for the ConfusionReasons for the Confusion

Council of Europe Parliamentary

Assembly Strasbourg, France European Court of

Human Rights Same flag

European Union European Parliament

(formerly Parliamentary Assembly)

Strasbourg, France European Court of

Justice

COE Institutional StructureCOE Institutional Structure

Committee of MinistersParliamentary AssemblyEuropean Court of Human RightsCongress of Local and Regional Authorities

Committee of MinistersCommittee of Ministers

Decision-making and policymaking bodyComposed of the foreign ministers of the

member countriesMeets 2 times per year; deputies monthly Adopt treaties which are later ratified by the

member countries

Parliamentary AssemblyParliamentary Assembly

313 members (plus 313 alternates) Appointed or elected from the parliaments of the

member countries 2 – 18 members per country, roughly proportional

to population Advises the Committee of Ministers 4 plenary sessions per year Has a committee structure President and Secretary General

Congress of Local and Congress of Local and Regional AuthoritiesRegional Authorities

Two chambers – local and regional313 members in eachBrings local democracy to COE activitiesAdvises the Committee of Ministers;

consultative body only

European Court of Human European Court of Human RightsRights

Established in 1959 pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights

Same number of judges as member countries; more than one judge from single member

Elected by the Parliamentary Assembly 6 year terms Decisions are binding on member countries, their

citizens, and their national courts

How Cases are Brought to the How Cases are Brought to the CourtCourt

Previously Human Rights Commission was required to approve cases to go to the court

Beginning in 1999, individuals can file applications

Court became full-time in 1999 As a result, the court’s case load has increased

Lustig-Prean and Beckett v. United Kingdom (1999).

Major PublicationsMajor Publications

Activities of the Council of Europe Texts Adopted …

(formerly Official Gazette of the Council of Europe) European Treaty Series / European Conventions

and Agreements Human Rights Information Bulletin Science and Technique of Democracy

– Monographic series Press releases

European Court of Human European Court of Human Rights PublicationsRights Publications

HUDOCS (Web database) Reports of Judgments and Decisions Decisions and Reports of the European

Commission for Human Rights (ceased 1999) European Human Rights Reports (E. H. R. R.) –

on LexisNexis Commercial/ Westlaw Yearbook of the European Convention on Human

Rights

European Commission for European Commission for Democracy Through LawDemocracy Through Law

Also known as the Venice CommissionGoal: encourage development of democracy

in Central and Eastern EuropeBulletin of Constitutional Case-Law

– Summaries of constitutional court decisions

CODICES database (web and CD)– Constitutional court decisions

Web ResourcesWeb Resources

Official Web Site http://www.coe.int/def

aultEN.asp

News on front page Institutions A-Z Index

StatisticsStatistics

COE has limited statistical informationDemography, population studiesEuropean Audiovisual ObservatoryCriminologyCase law statistics

COE Blanket OrderCOE Blanket Order

Princeton University Library has a blanket order for all COE publications through Manhattan Publishing (Voyager Order No. 78949) http://www.manhattanpublishing.com/

Contact: Tom Johnson 914-271-5194 About $3500 per year Exempt from Blanket Order

– Pharmacopia – European Audiovisual Observatory– COE internal documents

COE Research GuidesCOE Research Guides

University of Georgia Law Library– http://www.llrx.com/features/coe.htm

Duke University Law Library– http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/ResearchGuides/c

ouncilEurope/councilEurope.html

Why Should I Care?Why Should I Care?

Rich source for European informationhttp://www.coe.intPrinceton owns most COE publications

– In OPAC– NOT depository items

Major policy areas– Human Rights– Cultural property, etc.

New Electronic Resources In New Electronic Resources In LawLaw

LLMC DigitalIndex to House of Commons Parliamentary

Papers (1801 – 2002)Hein Online

– US Treaty Series plus others– United States Reports – official reporter– Federal Register – from volume 1

TIARA – treaties database