1. English for Lawyers 4 Lecturer: Miljen Matijašević Session 6
Session 6

2. Revision
The United Nations

3. Answer the questions
What was the UN founded and which international organisation did it succeed?
Where are its headquarters and how many member states does it have?
What are the UN’s official languages?
What are the principal organs of the UN?
What do you know about the General Assembly?
What about the UN Security Council?
What are some of the tasks of the Secretariat?

4. The Council of Europe

5. European Integration
What is the relationship between these institutions? Do any of these terms refer to the same thing?
the European Union
the Council of Europe
the Council of the European Union

6. European Integration How many states are members of:
the European Union 28
the Council of Europe 47

7. The Council of Europe - history
Idea of a united Europe was born after WW2, when the continent was devastated by the war, and when there was a shared strong desire for the horrors of war never to happen again
First suggested by Winston Churchill in his speech in Zürich in 1946, when he suggested building ‘a kind of United States of Europe’
Various initiatives were brought together into the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity
It organised the Hague Congress (7 May 1948), remembered as "The Congress of Europe".

8. The Council of Europe - history
The Hague Congress (1948)
Over 1,000 delegates from 20 countries
Adopted a series of resolutions which lay the foundations of the Council of Europe:
creation of an economic and political union to guarantee security, economic independence and social progress
the establishment of a consultative assembly elected by national parliaments
the drafting of a European charter of human rights and the setting up of a court to enforce its decisions

9. The Council of Europe - history
Two ideas for realization of the principles: a federative union of states (supported by Belgium and France), and a form of intergovernmental co-operation (preferred by the UK)
Compromise - the Council of Europe consisting of:
a committee of foreign ministers, to meet in private (with decision-making powers)
a consultative body (members chosen by parliaments), to meet in public

10. The Council of Europe - history
Statute of the Council signed in 1949 by 10 founding countries in London
Soon followed by the signing of the European Convention on Human Rights, which entered into force in 1953
References to the economic and political union declared at the Hague Congress were dropped in the Statute
This gave rise to the development of initiatives which led to the formation of the European Communities

11. The Council of Europe - history
More countries joined in the following decades
1990s were marked by the joining of Eastern European states, including former Soviet states and Croatia

12. The Council of Europe
International association comprising 47 member countries
Observer countries: The Holy See, the USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico
Applicant country: Belarus
Located in Strasbourg
Its aim is to develop and promote democratic principles based on the European Convention of Human Rights (key document of the COE) and other reference texts on the protection of individuals

13. The Council of Europe

14. The Council of Europe Aims:
to protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law; 
to promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;
to find common solutions to the challenges facing European society: such as discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, bioethics and cloning, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organised crime and corruption, cybercrime, violence against children;
to consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform. 

15. The Council of Europe - history
Today’s institutions of the COE:
Committee of Ministers
Parliamentary Assembly
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Secretary General
Official languages: English and French

16. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
Unit 14

17. European Court of Human Rights
Set up under the European Convention on Human Rights (a.k.a. Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms)
First public hearing took place in (Lawless v Ireland)
Instituted as a permanent court in 1998
The permanent judges now elected by the Parliamentary Assembly

18. European Court of Human Rights
Direct access for 800 million European citizens
There are 47 judges (equal to the number of member countries), but there is no nationality requirement
Judges supposed to be impartial, not represent interests of their home country

19. European Court of Human Rights
JURISDICTION
Enforcement of the rights laid down in the ECHR
Direct access for ca. 800 million European citizens

20. European Court of Human Rights
Judges elected for a six-year term, but may be re-elected until they reach the age of 70
Plenary Court – elects the President of the Court, two Vice-Presidents and the Section Presidents (current President: Jean-Paul Costa)

21. European Court of Human Rights
Divided into five Sections
Each Section contains Chambers, consisting of seven judges, who make most judgements
Committees of three judges assess applications and assess their admissibility
Recent change: admissibility can be assessed by a single judge

22. European Court of Human Rights
The Grand Chamber (17 judges) deals with cases that raise a serious question of interpretation or application of the Convention, or a serious issue of general importance
A Chamber may relinquish jurisdiction in a case to the Grand Chamber at any stage in the procedure before judgment, as long as both parties consent.

23. European Court of Human Rights
Any Contracting State (State application) or individual claiming to be a victim of a violation of the Convention (individual application) may lodge directly with the Court in Strasbourg an application alleging a breach by a Contracting State of one of the Convention rights.

24. European Court of Human Rights
REQUIREMENTS:
the applicant must have exhausted all available legal options in their own country
applications can be lodged no more than 6 months since the judgment of the national court
the authority for the violations of Convention rights in Croatia:
the Constitutional Court of the RC

25. European Court of Human Rights
The procedure before the European Court of Human Rights is adversarial and public. It is largely a written procedure.
Hearings, which are held only in a very small minority of cases, are public, unless the Chamber/Grand Chamber decides otherwise on account of exceptional circumstances.

26. European Court of Human Rights
Individual applicants may present their own cases, but they should be legally represented once the application has been communicated to the respondent Government
The Council of Europe has set up a legal aid scheme for applicants who do not have sufficient means.

27. European Court of Human Rights
Official languages: English and French, but applications may be submitted in any of the official languages of the Contracting States
Once the application has been declared admissible, one of the Court’s official languages must be used, unless the President of the Chamber/Grand Chamber authorises continued use of the language of the application.

28. European Court of Human Rights
If a Committee decides by a unanimous vote that an application is admissible, it is referred to a Chamber
Application referred to the respondent State, which is asked to address the issues of admissibility and merits that arise, and the applicants’ claims for just satisfaction

29. European Court of Human Rights
Parties also invited to settle
Chamber decides on admissibility and merits by a majority vote
Dissenting opinions may be appended to the judgement

30. European Court of Human Rights
A Chamber judgment becomes final three months after its delivery.
Within that time, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber if it raises a serious question of interpretation or application or a serious issue of general importance.

31. European Court of Human Rights
If the parties declare that they will not make such a request, the judgment will become final immediately.
Judgements of the Grand Chamber are final.

32. European Court of Human Rights
Supervision of the execution of judgements conducted by the Committee of Ministers.
The State in breach of the Convention must take appropriate remedial measures to comply with the Court’s judgement

33. COE and ECHR on the Internet
Read more about the Council of Europe, the Court
Judgements available online

34. Thank you for your attention!