23.6.2011

WELCOME BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,
TO MS SABINE LEUTHEUSSER-SCHNARRENBERGER,
FEDERAL MINISTER OF JUSTICE OF GERMANY
AND TO
MR DOMINIC GRIEVE,
ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR ENGLAND AND WALES

STRASBOURG, Thursday 23 June 2011, 10.25 am

MS SABINE LEUTHEUSSER-SCHNARRENBERGER

Dear colleagues,

I have the pleasure of welcoming our old friend Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the Federal Minister of Justice of Germany. We know you very well as an active member of our Assembly and its Committee on Legal affairs and Human Rights, where you successfully tackled several high-profile reports. When you became a Minister for the second time, two years ago, you continued to fight for fundamental rights and the rule of law in your new role. Your steadfastness has earned you the highest respect of human rights advocates in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, across political party boundaries. This makes you a particularly valuable ally of the Council of Europe in both the German and European political arenas. Once again, welcome back to the Assembly!

MR DOMINIC GRIEVE

I also take this opportunity to welcome Mr Dominic Grieve, Attorney General for England and Wales, and Advocate General for Northern Ireland.

Before giving you the floor, Mr Grieve, permit me to inform fellow parliamentarians about a certain "family link" that you have with the Assembly. Here, I am referring to a prominent former member of the Assembly, Percy Grieve - your father. He was a distinguished member of our body for 14 years - from 1969 to 1983; he was also the Chairman of our Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights from 1979 to 1983.

You yourself have had a prominent, both legal and parliamentary, career, and most recently, before becoming Attorney General in 2010, you were Shadow Home Secretary and then the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice.

Due to this wide experience, I am certain that you know the Council of Europe well, and in particular the work of its Assembly. It is therefore with great interest, and pleasure, that I and my colleagues look forward to listening to you.