23/06/2011 Session
23 June 2011 – PACE today set out in detail what national parliaments of Council of Europe member states can do to ensure compliance with international human rights standards.
Approving a report by Christos Pourgourides (Cyprus, EPP/CD), the Assembly said parliaments should set up committees to check draft laws for their “human rights compatibility”, propose new laws where needed and monitor governments’ compliance with international standards – especially judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
The parliamentarians pointed to “positive examples” of parliamentary structures in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland and Romania.
Approving a separate report by Carina Ohlsson (Sweden, SOC), PACE also said parliaments had an important role in protecting social rights, especially those enshrined in the Council of Europe’s revised Social Charter.