The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will meet in Sofia on Friday 27 November, in the context of the Bulgarian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers (November 2015-May 2016). After the opening of the meeting by PACE President Anne Brasseur, the Speaker of the National Assembly Tsetska Tsacheva … Read more
The democratic conscience of Greater Europe The Assembly brings together 324 men and women from the parliaments of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states. Though it contains many voices, reflecting political opinion across the continent, its mission is to uphold the shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law that … Read more
The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which aims to reward outstanding civil society action in the defence of human rights in Europe and beyond, was launched on 25 March 2013 at a ceremony in Prague (Czech Republic). To be awarded each year by the Assembly, in partnership with the Václav Havel Library and the … Read more
Most of the reports debated in plenary session or at the Standing Committee are prepared by a committee. The nine general committees of the Assembly are the following: Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy (AS/Pol) Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (AS/Jur) Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development (AS/Soc) Committee on Migration, … Read more
With the Terrorism: #NoHateNoFear initiative, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe wishes to encourage all players in society to stand firm against the terrorist threat by refusing to give in to hatred or fear. Certainly, terrorism must be combated, but this fight must be waged with due regard for the values which unite … Read more
The Assembly has a framework for ensuring the transparency of its work and the accountability and integrity of its members, in place for many years. This was significantly improved in 2017 and is regularly updated, ensuring that members act in line with the highest ethical standards. The Code of Conduct spells out what is expected … Read more
Observers The Assembly may, on the proposal of the Bureau, grant Observer status to national parliaments of non-member states of the Council of Europe which meet the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of Statutory Resolution (93) 26 of the Committee of Ministers on Observer status. The Assembly shall specify the number of members of … Read more
The committee’s public documents and declarations. Date Document title 1. Information documents 27/10/2017 AS/Jur/Inf (2017) 04 rev. List of reports and opinions of the Committee 2017 – 2006 17/01/2018 AS/Jur/Inf (2018) 01 Work of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (AS/Jur): an overview 02/11/2018 AS/Jur/Inf (2018) 02 rev 5 Work programme 18/01/2018 … Read more
Created by the Parliamentary Assembly in 1955, the Europe Prize is the highest distinction that can be bestowed on a European town for its actions in the European domain. It consists of a trophy, a medal, a diploma and a scholarship to be spent on a study visit within Europe for young people from the … Read more
The situation: Europe continues to be faced with unprecedented numbers of migrants seeking protection. Migrant children are the most vulnerable group, whether they are arriving with their families or as unaccompanied minors. A worrying number of them end up in administrative detention as a result of existing immigration laws and policies. In detention facilities … Read more
European Conference of Presidents of Parliament Strasbourg, France, 15-16 September 2016 The Presidents and Speakers of parliament from the 47 Council of Europe member states and many partner, observer and neighbouring countries, along with the Presidents of other international assemblies, met in Strasbourg on 15 and 16 September 2016 for a European parliamentary summit, … Read more
The Assembly was instrumental in introducing institutionalised parliamentary observation of elections in Europe. Its first initiative was monitoring the electoral process of a state in 1974 in the context of the return of Greece to the Council of Europe. Founded on 5 May 1949 by ten states, in 1989 the Organisation had 23 members. Since … Read more
PACE offers ‘self-service’ video clip tool With the aim of promoting parliamentary debate on social media, the Assembly offers an online tool which allows video clips from PACE plenary sessions to be swiftly edited, downloaded and posted on social media or the web. The “self-service” tool enables to download extracts from member and guests speeches … Read more
Partners for democracy By its Resolution 1680 (2009) the Assembly decided to establish a “partner for democracy” status. This status aims at developing co-operation with parliaments of non-member States of neighbouring regions as a means of consolidating democratic transformations and promoting stability, good governance, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The national … Read more
Legal Affairs and Human Rights News Sharia versus the Convention on Human Rights: protect human rights regardless of religious practices 14/12/2018 Legal Affairs and Human Rights The committee is greatly concerned that Sharia law, including provisions clearly contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, is applied officially or unofficially in several Council of Europe … Read more
Committee meetings Although committees deal in particular with reports, they have great freedom to discuss any matter within their competence when they agree to do so. They organise hearings, colloquies or conferences on particular subjects, the findings of which can then be used for the preparation of reports to the Assembly. Sessions and sittings … Read more
The parliamentarians who make up PACE come from the national parliaments of the Organisation’s 47 member states. They meet four times a year to discuss topical issues and ask European governments to take initiatives and report back. These parliamentarians speak for the 800 million Europeans who elected them. They broach the issues of their choice, … Read more
Composition and working methods of committees Committees are composed of representatives or substitutes of the Assembly. All committees (with the exception of the Committee on the Honouring of obligations and commitments by member states, known as the Monitoring Committee and the Committee of Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs) have an equal … Read more
The Assembly has a framework for ensuring the transparency of its work and the accountability and integrity of its members, in place for many years. This was significantly improved in 2017 and is regularly updated, ensuring that members act in line with the highest ethical standards. The Code of Conduct spells out what is expected … Read more
How are judges of the European Court of Human Rights elected? The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elects the judges of the European Court of Human Rights, providing them with democratic legitimacy. According to the European Convention on Human Rights, judges must “be of high moral character and possess the qualifications required for … Read more
