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Resolution 1366 (2004)
Candidates for the European Court of Human Rights
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, referring
to its Recommendation
1649 (2004), continues to support the procedure by which candidates
are asked to complete a standard curriculum vitae; it believes that
the model to be used should be reviewed by the Ad hoc Sub-Committee
on the Election of Judges to the European Court of Human Rights
and that proposals for modification should be reported to the sub-committee
for adoption by the Assembly.
2. The Assembly remains convinced that the twelve-month timetable
it has adopted provides a practical model for all participants,
but resolves nevertheless to keep its targets under review.
3. The Assembly decides not to consider lists of candidates where:
3.1. the areas of competence of
the candidates appear to be unduly restricted;
3.2. the list does not include at least one candidate of each
sex;
3.3. the candidates:
a. do not appear to have sufficient knowledge of at least one of the two official languages, or
b. do not appear to be of the stature to meet the criteria in Article 21, paragraph 1, of the European Convention on Human Rights.
4. The Assembly continues to believe that the process of interview
provides additional insight into the qualities of the candidates
and decides:
4.1. that nominated
candidates should be informed as far as possible of the purpose
of the interview and procedures for its conduct;
4.2. that alternative locations for interviews should be considered
if there is a valid reason for holding interviews outside Strasbourg
and Paris;
4.3. that further staggering or additional sessions of the
sub-committee might permit an extension of the time available for
each interview;
4.4. that the political groups, when nominating their representatives
to the sub-committee, should aim to include at least 40% women,
which is the parity threshold deemed necessary by the Council of
Europe to exclude possible gender bias in decision-making processes;
4.5. that candidates should be made aware of the criteria
employed by the sub-committee in reaching its decision;
4.6. that one of the criteria used by the sub-committee should
be that, in the case of equal merit, preference should be given
to a candidate of the sex under-represented at the Court;
4.7. that a fair and efficient interview process requires
a continuous process of training and re-assessment of the members
and staff involved in selection panels;
4.8. that the obligation to promote an open and transparent
process might require the sub-committee to give reasons for its
recommendations and ranking of candidates;
4.9. that it would be desirable to provide timely feedback
to both the individual candidate and the nominating state.
5. The Assembly refers to its report on the procedure for elections
held by the Parliamentary Assembly other than those of its President
and Vice-Presidents, which is currently under preparation in the
Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, which aims at changing
the procedure for the elections, for example by removing the requirement
for a second ballot when a candidate fails to receive an overall
majority on the first ballot or in the event of a tied result.
6. The Assembly, being concerned to ensure the independence
and impartiality of judges, considers that their appointment should
run for nine years non-renewable.
7. The Assembly decides to investigate at national and European
level what obstacles currently exist to the nomination of women
candidates, what measures could be taken to encourage female applicants,
and to consider setting targets for achieving greater gender equality
in the composition of the Court.