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Recommendation 1920 (2010) Final version
Reinforcing the effectiveness of Council of Europe treaty law
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Resolution 1732
(2010) on reinforcing the effectiveness of Council of
Europe treaty law, considers that one of the Council of Europe’s
main functions is to draw up standards on human rights and the rule
of law that together form a coherent body of European conventions.
It therefore asks the Committee of Ministers to:
1.1. approve an action plan to secure
the early ratification by all member states of the core Council
of Europe treaties, as defined in the appendix to the Assembly resolution,
with the fewest possible reservations;
1.2. urge member states to withdraw their reservations, derogations
and restrictive declarations concerning Council of Europe treaties,
particularly the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5),
and instruct the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International
Law (CAHDI) to intensify its existing efforts in this area to reduce
the use of such clauses;
1.3. agree on a programme of action for new conventions to
be drawn up, as a matter of priority, over the next five years;
1.4. instruct the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH),
the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) and the European
Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), in close co-operation with the
Council of Europe’s Legal Advice Department and the Treaty Office,
to examine the binding legal instruments within their respective
areas of authority, with a view to identifying:
1.4.1. treaties
that are still relevant but require updating;
1.4.2. treaties that are obsolete and should be abrogated;
1.4.3. treaties which have lost their relevance and have not
come into force within a certain number of years of their adoption
and which should be withdrawn;
1.5. in the light of changes in European law within the European
Union, particularly the advent of framework decisions or community
acts, consult the CAHDI on the possible adoption by the Council
of Europe of pan-European model acts to supplement its treaties.
2. The Assembly is also concerned about the possible effects
of the increased use, at the request of the European Union, of so-called
disconnection clauses in Council of Europe treaties. To ensure the
coherence of Council of Europe treaty law, and to avoid establishing
new dividing lines in Europe, it asks the Committee of Ministers
to draw up strict guidelines to control this practice, based on
the work of the CAHDI. The Assembly also urges the European Union
to accede to the Council of Europe’s conventions, in particular
the European Convention on Human Rights, as provided for in the
Lisbon Treaty.