09/06/2008 Legal Affairs and Human Rights | European Convention on Human Rights
Strasbourg, 09.06.2008 -“Member states parliaments should be more rigorous in ensuring regular verification of the compatibility of their legislation with European human rights convention standards ” declared Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc (Netherlands, EPP/CD) in a keynote speech today at a colloquy held in Stockholm.
Regretting that parliaments in only a few states exercise regular control over the effective implementation of Strasbourg Court judgments, Mrs Bemelmans-Videc recalled PACE Resolution 1516 (2006) which “invites all national parliaments to introduce specific mechanisms and procedures for effective parliamentary oversight of the implementation of the Court’s judgments on the basis of regular reports by the responsible ministries”. In this connection, she also expressed her regret that the Committee of Ministers had not taken sufficient account of the importance of the ‘parliamentary dimension’ in its recent Recommendation on the efficient domestic capacity for rapid execution of judgments of the Strasbourg Court.
“The privileged status which we, parliamentarians, have in our dual capacity as members of PACE and national legislators permits us to facilitate the implementation of Strasbourg Court judgments,” she added.
The colloquy has brought together around 150 representatives of governments, the Court and other bodies of the Council of Europe, as well as representatives of international governmental and non-governmental organisations. Swedish political and judicial institutions and professional associations are also participating.