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PACE elects Andreas Zünd judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Switzerland

26/01/2021 | Session

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) today elected Andreas Zünd as judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Switzerland. Mr Zünd, having obtained an absolute majority of votes cast, is elected a judge of the European Court of Human Rights for a term of office of...

PACE elects Ioannis Ktistakis judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Greece

26/01/2021 | Session

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) today elected Ioannis Ktistakis as judge to the European Court of Human Rights in respect of Greece. Mr Ktistakis, having obtained an absolute majority of votes cast, is elected judge of the European Court of Human Rights for a term of office of...

Didier Reynders: ‘Respect for the rule of law cannot be taken for granted, even within the EU’

26/01/2021 | Session

“The rule of law is of fundamental importance, as it guarantees the protection of all other values, including democracy and respect for fundamental rights. Unfortunately, respect for the rule of law cannot be taken for granted, even within the Union,” declared the European Commissioner for...

Joint procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly: PACE amends its Rules of...

26/01/2021 | Session

By adopting a resolution today, on the basis of the report by Sir Edward Leigh (United Kingdom, EC/AD), PACE has decided to amend its Rules of Procedure to enable the implementation of a complementary joint procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to...

The Assembly elects its Vice-Presidents

25/01/2021 | Session

At the opening of its Winter plenary Session today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) elected its Vice-Presidents: Laima Liucija Andrikienė (Lithuania)José Badia (Monaco)Theodora Bakoyannis (Greece)Gusty Graas (Luxembourg)John Howell (United Kingdom)Kimmo Kiljunen...

Hybrid plenary Session (25-28 January)

25/01/2021 | Session

Adopting its final agenda at the opening of the 2021 winter plenary session, the Assembly decided to hold current affairs debates on "The arrest and detention of Alexei Navalny in January 2021" and on "Freedom of expression (Article 10 of the ECHR) under threat by ‘Big Tech’ Companies". Following...

Rik Daems, re-elected President, invites members to see PACE as vehicle for upholding shared values

25/01/2021 | Session

Strasbourg, 25.01.2021 – Rik Daems, re-elected today for a second one-year term as President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), thanked members for their confidence and welcomed the holding of PACE’s first hybrid plenary session. In his re-investiture speech, he stressed that...

Russian delegation’s credentials challenged at opening of PACE hybrid plenary session

25/01/2021 | Session

The credentials of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have been challenged on substantive grounds (Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure) on the opening day of the 2021 “hybrid” winter plenary session. The challenge – made by the head of the Ukrainian...

PACE reviews the work of its subsidiary bodies over a whole year

25/01/2021 | Session

The organisation of the Assembly’s work in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic with supplementary working methods and arrangements for the conduct of remote meetings; election observations; the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize; budgetary matters; and gender equality in the functioning of the...

PACE reviews progress of Council of Europe states under monitoring in 2020

25/01/2021 | Session

PACE today adopted its annual report taking stock of its monitoring activities in 2020 and making a series of assessments of the progress of the countries subject to the monitoring procedure or engaged in post-monitoring dialogue. There are eleven countries subject to the full monitoring...

Human rights conventions are the ‘soul’ of modern Europe, Secretary General tells PACE

25/01/2021 | Session

Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has underlined the importance of the Organisation’s two key conventions: the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Social Charter. Addressing a hybrid session of the Parliamentary Assembly, she described them as comprising the “soul...

Hybrid winter plenary session 2021

19/01/2021 | Session

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will hold its 2021 winter plenary session from January 25 to 28 in a hybrid manner, allowing members to participate remotely or attend in person in Strasbourg. The Assembly will debate the ethical, legal and practical considerations of...