Treaties and Courts

Council of Europe: Intro Founded 1949 “Seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals” 47 members, 1 applicant country (Belarus), 5 observers (Holy See, US, Canada, Japan, Mexico) Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Official languages: English, French Working languages: German, Italian, Russian

CoE: statutes and conventions All treaties (EN, FR, RU, DE, IT) –e.g. Statute of the Council of Europe – establishing CoEStatute of the Council of Europe European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms –enforced by European Court of Human Rights –text and notes in EN, FR, RU, DE, IT from CoE sitetext and notes in EN, FR, RU, DE, IT from CoE site

EU: treaties Collection of treaties –Establishing the EU, amending previous treaties e.g. Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community (html) or in OJTreaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European CommunityOJ –Accession e.g. treaty concerning the accession of Romania and Bulgaria (OJ)treaty concerning the accession of Romania and Bulgaria

UN: treaties and conventions Collection of UN treaties ng=enhttp://treaties.un.org/Pages/Home.aspx?la ng=en United Nations international law: Guide to key terms used in UN treaty collectionGuide to key terms used in UN treaty collection

Other treaty resources UK: Foreign & Commonwealth Office – us/publications-and-documents/treaties/ us/publications-and-documents/treaties/ National governmental resources Global Legal International Network (GLIN): searchable database of treatiesGlobal Legal International Network

Courts Court of Justice of the European Union European Court of Human Rights International Court of Justice International Criminal Court cpi.int/Menus/ICC/About+the+Court

CONFLICT in the EU over versions All the language versions are legally valid, but they differ linguistically – conflict resulting in Iitigation occurs. How does the court make a judgement?

Principles & procedures for judgement 1) There is one law with a uniform interpretation. 2)Compare different language versions. 3) Refer to purpose & general scheme of law of the which the contested words form a part, and refer to Community law as a whole.