Council of Europe

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Summit of Fire and Ice 4th: Council of Europe Summit, Reykjavík

May 31, 2023

Iceland is known as “the land of fire and ice.”  Its dramatic volcanoes are constantly and rapidly shaping a new complexion in the north-west European island state, whilst its seemingly unchanging glaciers slowly and stubbornly carve through the landscape. Fire and ice are words that also come to mind when one reflects on the historic Summit of Council of Europe Heads of State and Government held on 16 – 17 May 2023 to conclude Iceland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers (CM) because of the profound evolution of the organisations focus on the one hand, and the near absence of progress on the other. The Summit focussed principally on four overarching issues: 1) ensuring accountability for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine, 2) reviving commitment to the ECHR control system, 3) reiterating fundamental principles of democracy, and 4) advancing the agenda of human rights and the environment. Clearly, the Reykjavík Declaration and its five substantive appendices have the potential to significantly strengthen the Council of…

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For Propaganda Without Disinformation: Draft EU Regulation on Political Advertising

February 24, 2023

Right now, the EU stands ready to adopt a set of strict rules in yet another area of free expression: political advertising in the online and traditional media. This blog examines the draft proposal made by the Commission, and subsequently adopted by the Council and the Parliament, and how it focuses on stopping disinformation in political advertising, especially…

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The Gender of Treaty Withdrawal: Lessons from the Istanbul Convention

November 28, 2022

In the early hours of 20 March 2021 the Turkish Official Gazette announced—in a one sentence statement that offered no explanation—that the President Erdoğan had decided to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe treaty on preventing and combating violence against women. Two days later, the Communication Directorate of the President offered this justification: “The…

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Setting the Cat amongst Pigeons: Kosovo’s Application for Membership of the Council of Europe

May 17, 2022

Kosovo is one of the few places in Europe not party to the European Convention on Human Rights due to a legacy conflict with Serbia. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 after a bloody war followed by a period of international administration, but this is strongly disputed by Serbia which claims exclusive sovereignty over the entire territory. The conflict…

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The Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property eventually enters into force:  A new tool to the arsenal of international criminal law responses to the trafficking of cultural property

April 14, 2022

In the face of the dramatic events taking place over the last few weeks as a result of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine, it is hard to trace any positive developments in the field of international law. This being so, taking into account that cultural property is often a target during armed conflicts, either deliberately or as a…

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