Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 123 / 1995 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on access of the Czech Republic to the Statute of the Council of Europe
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International Treaty
Effective from 30.06.1993
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14.07.1995
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123
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the Statute of the Council of Europe was adopted in London on 5 May 1949.
The Parliament of the Czech Republic agreed with the Statute and the Charter on access to the Statute of the Council of Europe was deposited with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, the Depository of the Statute, on 30 June 1993.
The Statute entered into force on the basis of Article 42 (b) thereof on 3 August 1949 and for the Czech Republic in accordance with the wording of Article 4 thereof on 30 June 1993.
The Czech translation of the Statute is announced simultaneously.
STATUTE OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
the Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the French Republic, the Republic of Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
convinced that strengthening peace based on justice and international cooperation is vital for the preservation of human communities and civilisation;
confirming their full commitment to spiritual and moral values, which are the common heritage of their peoples and the original source of the principles of individual freedom, political freedom and the rule of law on which every true democracy is founded;
Believing that greater unity between the same-minded European countries is needed in order to preserve and further develop these ideas, as well as in the interests of economic and social development;
Believing that, in order to fulfil this need, as well as the expressed aspirations of the peoples of the European States, it is necessary from now on to establish an organisation bringing together European states as closely as possible;
They therefore decided to establish a Council of Europe, consisting of a Committee of Representatives of the Governments and the Advisory Assembly, and to this end they adopted this Statute.
CHAPTER I
Objective of the Council of Europe
a. The objective of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its members in order to protect the realisation of the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and to facilitate their economic and social development.
b. This objective will be pursued through the Council institutions by discussing issues of common interest and agreements and joint measures on economic, social, cultural, scientific, legal and administrative matters and by respecting and further implementing human rights and fundamental freedoms.
c. Participation in the Council of Europe shall not affect the cooperation of its members in the activities of the United Nations and other international organisations or associations of which they are members.
d. National defence issues do not fall within the competence of the Council of Europe.
CHAPTER II
Composition
The members of the Council of Europe are parties to this Statute.
Each member of the Council of Europe recognises the rule of law and guarantees respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons under its jurisdiction. It is obliged to cooperate sincerely and effectively in meeting the Council of Europe's objective as defined in Chapter I.
A European State deemed capable of complying with the provisions of Article 3 and having such a will may be invited by the Committee of Ministers to become a member of the Council of Europe. The State which has been so invited shall become a member by imposing on its behalf an instrument of access to this Statute with the Secretary-General.
a. In special circumstances, a European State which is deemed capable of complying with the provisions of Article 3 and has such a will may be invited by the Committee of Ministers to become an associated member of the Council of Europe. A State which has been so invited shall become an associated member by imposing on its behalf an instrument of acceptance with the Secretary-General. The associated member shall be entitled to be represented only at the Advisory Assembly.
b. The term "Member" in this Statute also means an associated member, unless it concerns representation in the Committee of Ministers.
Before issuing an invitation pursuant to Article 4 or 5 above The Committee of Ministers shall determine the number of representatives in the Advisory Assembly to which the proposed member will be authorised and the proportion of his financial contribution.
A member may leave the Council of Europe by written notification of his decision to the Secretary-General. Where a performance is announced during the first nine months of the financial year, it shall become effective at the end of that financial year. Where notification is made during the last three months of the financial year, it shall become effective at the end of the next financial year.
A member of the Council of Europe who has seriously violated the provisions of Article 3 may be temporarily deprived of his right of representation and requested by the Committee of Ministers to speak in accordance with the provisions of Article 7. If such a member does not comply with such a request, the Committee may decide that that member shall cease to be a member of the Council from a date determined by the Committee itself.
If a member fails to fulfil his financial obligations, the Committee of Ministers may suspend his or her right to be represented in the Committee and the Advisory Assembly until such time as he or she fulfils those obligations.
CHAPTER III
General provisions
The institutions of the Council of Europe shall be:
i. Committee of Ministers;
ii. Advisory Assembly.
The Council of Europe Secretariat helps both institutions.
The seat of the Council of Europe is Strasbourg.
The official languages of the Council of Europe are English and French. The Rules of Procedure of the Committee of Ministers and of the Advisory Assembly shall determine the circumstances and conditions under which other languages may be used.
CHAPTER IV
Committee of Ministers
The Committee of Ministers shall be an institution acting on behalf of the Council of Europe in accordance with Articles 15 and 16.
Each member shall have one representative in the Committee of Ministers and each representative shall have one vote. The leaders of the committee are Foreign Ministers. If the Minister for Foreign Affairs cannot be present or if circumstances so require, a representative may be appointed to act on his behalf. Whenever possible, the Deputy shall be a member of the Government of his State.
a. On the recommendation of the Advisory Assembly or on its own initiative, the Committee of Ministers shall consider measures aimed at meeting the objective of the Council of Europe, including the negotiation of conventions and agreements and the adoption of common procedures by the governments of the Member States on designated issues. The conclusions shall be communicated to the members by the Secretary-General.
(b) where necessary, the conclusions of the Committee may take the form of recommendations to the governments of the members. The Committee may request the governments of members to be informed of how they responded to these recommendations.
Subject to the powers of the Advisory Assembly as defined in Articles 24, 28, 30, 32, 33 and 35, the Committee of Ministers shall take binding decisions on all matters relating to the internal organisation and adaptation of the Council of Europe. To this end, the Committee of Ministers shall take the necessary financial and administrative measures.
The Committee of Ministers may set up advisory and technical committees or commissions for any specific purpose it considers necessary.
The Committee of Ministers shall adopt its own rules of procedure, specifying in particular:
i. quorum;
the method of designation and the term of office of the Chairman of the Committee;
the procedure for the inclusion of items on the agenda and for the submission of draft resolutions; and
IV conditions for the appointment of representatives pursuant to Article 14.
At each meeting of the Advisory Assembly, the Committee of Ministers shall report on its activities together with the necessary documentation.
a. The Resolution of the Committee of Ministers on the following important matters, in particular:
i. the recommendation referred to in Article 15 (b);
;
the questions referred to in Article 21 (a) and (b);
IV questions referred to in Article 33;
v. the recommendations of the Appendices to Articles 1 (d), 7, 15, 20 and 22; and
vi. any other matter decided by the Committee by a resolution adopted pursuant to paragraph d. below that, in view of its importance, it may be decided only unanimously, requires the unanimity of the votes cast and the majority of the votes of the representatives authorised to sit in the Committee to be adopted.
(b) Questions relating to internal rules of procedure or to financial or administrative rules may be decided by a simple majority of the representatives authorised to sit in the Committee.
c. Adoption of resolutions by the Committee pursuant to Articles 4 and 5 shall require a majority of two thirds of the votes of all representatives authorised to sit in the Committee.
d. The adoption of any other resolution of the Committee, including the adoption of the budget, the Rules of Procedure, the financial and administrative rules, the recommendation of amendments to the articles of this Statute not referred to in paragraph a.v. above and determining, in the event of doubt, which of the paragraphs of this Article shall apply, the majority of two thirds of the votes cast by the representatives and the majority of the votes of the representatives authorised to sit within the Committee.
a. Unless otherwise decided by the Committee of Ministers, its meetings shall be held by:
i. non-public; and
They shall be held at the seat of the Council.
b. The Committee shall decide which information on the conclusions and deliberations of the private meetings will be published.
c. The Committee shall meet before and at the beginning of each meeting of the Advisory Assembly whenever it considers it necessary.
CHAPTER V
Advisory Assembly
The Advisory Assembly shall be the advisory body of the Council of Europe. It shall discuss matters within the scope of its competence as set out in this Statute and forward its conclusions in the form of recommendations from the Committee of Ministers.
(completed in May 1951)
a. The Advisory Assembly may act and adopt recommendations on any question relating to the objective and competence of the Council of Europe as defined in Chapter I. It shall act and may adopt recommendations on any question referred to it by the Committee of Ministers with a request for an opinion.
b. In accordance with paragraph a. of this Article, the Assembly shall determine its agenda. In doing so, it shall take account of the activities of other European intergovernmental organisations of which all or some of the Council Member States are members.
c. The President of the Assembly shall decide, in case of doubt, whether the question raised during the sitting is on the agenda of the Assembly.
Taking into account the provisions of Article 38 (d), the Advisory Assembly may establish committees or commissions to examine any issue within its scope as set out in Article 23, report to, assess and prepare questions on the agenda and address all procedural issues.
(The first sentence of paragraph a. as amended by the Addendum of May 1951 - The last two paragraphs of paragraph a. were supplemented in May 1953. The first paragraph of paragraph a. was supplemented in October 1970.)
a. The Advisory Assembly shall consist of representatives of each Member State elected by its Parliament from among its members or appointed from among the members of this Parliament in a manner which this Parliament itself shall determine, subject to the authorisation of each Member State to carry out the additional necessary appointments, unless the Parliament sits down and establishes a procedure for such a case. Each representative shall be a citizen of the Member State which he represents but shall not be a member of the Committee of Ministers at the same time.
The mandate of such designated representatives shall be established by the opening of a proper meeting following their appointment; The mandate shall expire on the beginning of the next ordinary session or at a later ordinary session, subject to the authorisation of the Member States to make new appointments as a result of parliamentary elections.
If a member complements the vacancies as a result of death or resignation or accedes to a new appointment as a result of the election to his Parliament, the mandate of the new representatives shall be dated from the first meeting of the Assembly following their appointment.
b. No representative may be relieved of his mandate during the meeting of the Assembly without the consent of the Assembly.
c. Any representative may have a representative who, in his absence, is entitled to sit, speak and vote in his place. The provisions of paragraph a. above shall also apply to the designation of representatives.
(As amended by the Appendices of December 1951, May 1958, November 1961, May 1965, February 1971, December 1974, October 1976, January 1978, November 1978, November 1988, May 1989, November 1990, February 1991, November 1991, May 1992 and May 1993.)
Members shall be entitled to the following number of representatives:
| Belgie | 7 |
| Bulharsko | 6 |
| Dánsko | 5 |
| Estonsko | 3 |
| Finsko | 5 |
| Francie | 18 |
| Irsko | 4 |
| Island | 3 |
| Itálie | 18 |
| Kypr | 3 |
| Lichtenštejnsko | 2 |
| Litva | 4 |
| Lucembursko | 3 |
| Malta | 3 |
| Maďarsko | 7 |
| Nizozemí | 7 |
| Norsko | 5 |
| Polsko | 12 |
| Portugalsko | 7 |
| Rakousko | 6 |
| Řecko | 7 |
| San Marino | 2 |
| Slovinsko | 3 |
| Spojené království Velké Británie a Severního Irska | 18 |
| Spolková republika Německo | 18 |
| Španělsko | 12 |
| Švédsko | 6 |
| Švýcarsko | 6 |
| Turecko | 12. |
(completed in May 1951)
The conditions under which the Committee of Ministers may be represented collectively in the deliberations of the Advisory Assembly and the conditions under which representatives in the Committee or their representatives may speak individually before the Assembly shall be determined in the relevant provisions of the Rules of Procedure, which shall be adopted by the Committee after consulting the Assembly.
a. The Advisory Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure and elect its chairman from among its members, who shall remain in office until the following ordinary meeting.
b. The President shall direct the work of the Assembly but shall not take part in any debate or vote. The representative who is the chairman may sit, act and vote in his place.
(c) The Rules of Procedure shall lay down in particular:
i. quorum;
ii. the method of election and the term of the President and the other members of Byr;
the means of determining the agenda and notifying the representatives thereof;
IV. Time limits and manner of notification of the names of the representatives and their representatives.
Subject to the provisions of Article 30, the Resolution of the Advisory Assembly, including those which:
i. contain recommendations for the Committee of Ministers;
;
;
the date of the opening of its meetings;
v. determine which majority is necessary for the adoption of resolutions not mentioned in point I. - iv above, or, in case of doubt, which majority is required;
require a two-thirds majority of the votes of the representatives participating in the vote to be adopted.
In order to approve the resolutions of the Advisory Assembly on matters relating to its internal functioning, in particular the election of the members of Byr, the designation of members of committees and commissions and the adoption of the Rules of Procedure, a majority shall be required as provided for by the Assembly pursuant to Rule 29 (v) of the Rules of Procedure.
Negotiations on proposals to be submitted to the Committee of Ministers on the inclusion of a question on the agenda of the Advisory Assembly may concern, in addition to the definition of its subject matter, only reasons for or against such inclusion.
The Advisory Assembly shall meet once a year at a regular meeting, the date and duration of which shall be determined by the Assembly so as to overlap as little as possible with the meetings of the parliaments in the Member States and with those of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Unless the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers acting jointly decide otherwise, the ordinary session shall not last more than one month.
The ordinary meetings of the Advisory Assembly shall be held at the seat of the Council unless the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers, acting jointly, decide otherwise.
(completed in May 1951)
The Advisory Assembly may also be convened for an extraordinary meeting on a proposal from the Committee of Ministers or the President of the Assembly and after their mutual agreement, which shall also determine the date and place of the meeting.
Unless the Advisory Assembly decides otherwise, its deliberations shall be public.
CHAPTER VI
Secretariat
a. The Secretariat shall be composed of the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General and the necessary staff.
b. The Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General shall be appointed by the Advisory Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers.
c. The other members of the Secretariat shall be appointed by the Secretary-General in accordance with the internal rules.
d. A member of the Secretariat shall not be a paid employee of any government, shall not be a member of the Advisory Assembly or of the national parliament or engage in employment incompatible with its tasks.
e. Each Secretariat worker must solemnly confirm his commitment to the Council of Europe and his decision to perform his tasks with due respect, without the influence of any national interests, and that he will neither seek nor accept from any government or other force outside the Council of Europe any instructions relating to the performance of his tasks and that he will refrain from any acts incompatible with his status as an international official responsible only to the Council. The Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General shall make this declaration before the Committee, the other staff before the Secretary-General.
f. Each member shall respect exclusively the international nature of the functions of the Secretary-General and of the Secretariat's staff and refrain from any influence on their functions.
a. The Secretariat shall be located at the seat of the Council.
b. The Secretary-General of the Committee of Ministers shall be responsible for the activities of the Secretariat. Subject to the provisions of Article 38 (d), the Advisory Assembly shall provide in particular the administrative and other services which the Assembly may need.
CHAPTER VII
Financing
(Paragraph E. Article 38 was supplemented in May 1951)
a. Each member shall bear the costs of its representation in the Committee of Ministers and the Advisory Assembly.
b. Expenditure of the Secretariat and all other common expenditure shall be distributed among all members in the proportion determined by the Committee on the basis of the population of each member.
The contribution of the associated member shall be determined by the Committee.
c. Under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulations, the Secretary-General shall submit an annual budget to the Committee for approval.
d. The Secretary-General shall forward to the Committee the requests of the Assembly relating to expenditure in excess of the amount already budgeted for the Assembly and its activities.
e. The Secretary-General shall also submit to the Committee of Ministers an estimate of the issue envisaged for the implementation of each recommendation submitted to the Committee. A resolution which requires additional editions shall be deemed to have been approved by the Committee of Ministers only if the Committee concurrently approves the envisaged additional editions.
The Secretary-General shall notify the governments of the Members each year of the amount of their contributions. The contributions shall be deemed due on the date of their notification and shall be paid to the hands of the Secretary-General no later than six months after the date of their notification.
CHAPTER VIII
Privileges and immunities
a. The Council of Europe, the representatives of the members and the Secretariat shall enjoy in the territory of the members the privileges and immunities necessary for the performance of their duties. In particular, in the framework of these immunities, representatives in the Advisory Assembly may not be arrested or prosecuted in the territory of all members in favour of the opinion expressed or voting at the meeting of the Assembly, its committees or commissions.
b. Members shall endeavour to negotiate an agreement as soon as possible to implement the provisions of paragraph a. above. To this end, the Committee of Ministers shall recommend to the governments of the Members the adoption of an agreement defining the privileges and immunities granted in the territory of all Members. In addition, a special agreement will be negotiated with the Government of the French Republic defining the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the Council at its seat.
CHAPTER IX
Complements
a. Proposals for additions shall be submitted in the Committee of Ministers or under the conditions laid down in Article 23 of the Advisory Assembly.
b. The Committee shall recommend the supplements it considers necessary and ensure that they are included in the Protocol.
c. Each Supplementary Protocol shall enter into force as soon as it is signed and ratified by two thirds of the members.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the additions to Articles 23 - 35, 38 and 39, approved by the Committee and the Assembly, shall enter into force on an ad hoc date, drawn up by the Secretary-General and sent to the governments of the Members, in which the approval of such additions is confirmed. The provisions of this paragraph may not apply until the second ordinary session of the Assembly has been completed.
CHAPTER X
Final provisions
a. This Statute is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
b. This Statute shall enter into force after the seventh instrument of ratification has been deposited. The United Kingdom Government shall send confirmation to all governments which have signed this Statute that the Statute has entered into force, with the names of the members of the Council of Europe at that date.
c. Subsequently, each signatory shall become a party to this Statute on the date of deposit of his instrument of ratification.
In order to prove the signature below, duly authorised to do so, they have signed this Statute.
Dated in London on 5 May 1949 in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which will remain in the archives of the United Kingdom Government, which will send a certified copy to all other signatory governments.
* * *
Texts of a statutory nature adopted by the Committee of Ministers during its eighth and ninth sessions and intended for inclusion in the revised Statute
I
Resolutions adopted by the Committee of Ministers at its eighth meeting in May 1951
Committee of Ministers,
having regard to some of the proposals formulated by the Advisory Assembly to revise the Statute of the Council of Europe,
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 123 / 1995 Coll., on access of the Czech Republic to the Statute of the Council of Europe |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | International Treaty |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 14.07.1995 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 30.06.1993 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
Legal Areas:
International law
International public law
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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