Doc. 10596

20 June 2005

Political and statutory role of the Parliamentary Assembly within the Council of Europe

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr Margelov and others

1.       The Statute of the Council of Europe was signed in London in 1949. Since then Europe and the Organisation have experienced dramatic changes. With the exception of Belarus, all European states are today members of the Council of Europe.

2.       In July 1974, the Assembly’s Standing Committee decided that the name “Parliamentary Assembly” should be used in place of “Consultative Assembly” which appear in the 1949 Statute since it reflected more accurately the role and composition of the parliamentary organ of the Council of Europe. It took almost 20 years (February 1994) for the Committee of Ministers, the organ representing the governments of member states, to decide to use the name “Parliamentary Assembly” in all Council of Europe documents.

3.       The First Summit of Heads of State and Government of Council of Europe member states (Vienna, October 1993) instructed the Committee of Ministers to adapt the Organisation’s Statute as necessary having regard to the proposal put forward by the Parliamentary Assembly, in particular in its Recommendation 1212 (1993) on the adoption of a revised Statute of the Council of Europe. Although the Committee of Ministers, through statutory resolutions, has amended the Statute on several specific issues, in particular after the Second Summit, it is commonly accepted that the Organisation’s Statute does not reflect properly the current political role played by the Parliamentary Assembly within the Council of Europe.

4.       Election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights, the Commissioner for Human Rights, of the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as of the Assembly’s Secretary General, the adoption of statutory opinions on accession of new member states and on granting observer status with the Organisation, the adoption of opinions on draft Council of Europe Conventions, the recommendations to draft new legal instruments are only a few examples to illustrate the political nature of the Assembly’s work.

5.       Consequently, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.       revise the Statute of the Council of Europe to fully recognise the political role played by the Parliamentary Assembly;

ii.       formally consult it before taking a final decision on the proposed version;

iii.       discuss in Joint Committee all issues which may arise during the revision process.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed ¹:

MARGELOV, Mikhail, Russia, EDG

AÇIKGÖZ, Ruhi, Turkey, EDG

ATKINSON, David, United Kingdom, EDG

AZZOLINI, Claudio, Italy EPP/CD

ÇAVUŞOĞLU, Mevlüt, Turkey, EDG

CHAPMAN, Sydney, United Kingdom, EDG

CLIVETI, Minodora, Romania, SOC

CORREIA, Telmo, Portugal, NR

de PUIG, Lluís Maria, Spain, SOC

DZHABRAILOV, Umar, Russia, EDG

EINARSSON, Mats, Sweden, UEL

EÖRSI, Mátyás, Hungary, LDR

GARDETTO, Jean-Charles, Monaco, EPP/CD

GLESENER, Marcel, Luxembourg, EPP/CD

JIRSA, Tomáš, Czech Republic, EDG

KOSACHEV, Konstantin, Russia, EDG

KOSACHEV, Konstantin, Russia, EDG

KVAKKESTAD, André, Norway, EDG

LOZANČIĆ, Ivo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EDG

MARGARYAN, Grigor, Armenia, EDG

MOKRY, Vladimir, Russia, EDG

MONSEN, Per Erik, Norway, EDG

NASUFI, Xhevdet, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", EDG

Van den BRANDE, Luc, Belgium, EPP/CD

WALTER, Robert, United Kingdom, EDG

WILKINSON, John, United Kingdom, EDG

WILSHIRE, David, United Kingdom, EDG

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group