council of europe

European Criminal Bar Association

The European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) is an independent organisation of specialist defence lawyers based in Council of Europe countries. The aim of the ECBA is to promote “the fundamental rights of persons under criminal investigation, suspects, accused and convicted persons”. Details of working groups covering e-evidence, human rights, extradition and European Arrest Warrant and anti-corruption in Europe are given on the site along with their working documents.

HUDOC-ESC

The European Committee of Social Rights (ESC) is a Council of Europe body which monitors compliance with the European Social Charter, a Council of Europe treaty concerning social and economic rights. HUDOC-ESC is a database of its decisions and conclusions, together with related documents such as resolutions and recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in matters relating to the Social Charter. Basic and advanced search facilities are provided. The interface and contents of the database are available in English and French.

HUDOC-EXEC

Database of documents relating to the execution of European Court of Human Rights judgments, provided by the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Includes dossiers detailing the status of execution of each judgment (under 'Cases' on the database menu); communications from the parties to a case and from NGOs (et cetera); government action plans and reports; decisions of the Council of Ministers; memoranda; and resolutions. Coverage goes back to 1961.

HUDOC-ECRI

Database of documents produced by the European Committee for Database of documentation relating to the work of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), a Council of Europe human rights body which monitors racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Council of Europe member states. The database contains ECRI country reports; government observations (responses to ECRI reports); policy recommendations; interim conclusions; and press releases.

European Human Rights System

Guide to researching the Council of Europe (CoE) and its regulation of human rights, by James Hart, Associate Senior Reference Librarian in the University of Cincinnati Law Library. The article was published in 2011 (and updated in 2023) on New York University's Globalex website. The guide covers the background, history and structure of the CoE and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It explains the roles and functions of the European Commission of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.

Texts adopted by the Congress of local and regional authorities

Collection of legal texts adopted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) and its forerunner, the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe. The Congress is an institution of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the texts are on the CoE website. The collection comprises: resolutions and opinions (1957- ); conventions and charters; recommendations (1994 - ); the Council of Ministers' replies to recommendations (2003 - ); and the final declarations adopted at the close of international conferences and meetings.

European Commission for Democracy through Law

The European Commission for Democracy through Law, known as the Venice Commission, is a Council of Europe body that was established in 1990. Originally set up to assist Eastern European countries in the re-engineering of their constitutions, it now monitors and provides assistance to countries all around the world and has more than 60 member states. The website outlines the Commission's activities, which include providing advice and training to individual states on constitutional matters, elections and referendums and constitutional justice.

Council of Europe Publishing

Council of Europe Publishing is the Council of Europe's official publisher and this website is its online bookshop. It provides a full catalogue of priced CoE publications, printed and electronic, from the last ten years. Titles are arranged under the following headings: Committee of Ministers, Parliamentary Assembly, Congress, Human Rights, Law, Health, Society, Environment, Population, Local and Regional Democracy, Education, Modern languages, Youth, Culture, Sport, Communication, European issues and Non-official languages. Basic and advanced search facilities are available.

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