The European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism provides that none of the offences it defines shall be regarded as political for the purposes of extradition. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, the Council of Europe revised the Convention in order to increase its effectiveness. This publication contains the consolidated text of the Convention as it will be amended by its Protocol and an explanatory report.
Recent atrocities have ensured that terrorism and how to deal with terrorists legally and politically has been the subject of much discussion and debate on the international stage. This book presents a study of changes in the legal treatment of those perpetrating crimes of a political character over several decades. It most centrally deals with the political offence exception and how it has changed. The book looks at this change from an international perspective with a particular focus on the United States. Interdisciplinary in approach, it examines the fields of terrorism and political crime from legal, political science and criminological perspectives. It will be of interest to a broad range of academics and researchers, as well as to policymakers involved in creating new anti-terrorist policies.
The Council of Europe has been dedicated, since 1949, to upholding human rights, the rule of law and pluralist democracy. Terrorism repudiates these three fundamental values and the Council of Europe is determined to combat it. This is the second edition of this publication which contains the texts of international legal instruments and standards, drafted by the Council, which reflect the importance it attaches to combating terrorism while upholding the basic values that are the common heritage of the European continent. The texts are organised under the following headings: European Conventions; Committee of Ministers; Parliamentary Assembly; European Minister of Justice; European Ministers responsible for Cultural Affairs; Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe; and Intergovernmental Committees.
The fight against today's new forms of criminality, across Europe and beyond, can only succeed if we have the necessary tools, in particular through effective mechanisms dealing with extradition. For over fifty years, the Council of Europe has been developing a set of instruments dealing with extradition, be it in the form of conventions or resolutions and recommendations to member states. This publication presents notes and comments on the Council of Europe's legal instruments on extradition. It includes the current status of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on extradition matters and on other transnational criminal proceedings. It also brings together the non-binding instruments on extradition adopted by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. Practitioners, policy makers and researchers dealing with extradition matters will find this publication a useful and up-to-date reference document.
Since its foundation, the Council of Europe has established a common legal system for European states, based on democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Its standard-setting texts have helped its members meet the challenges of changing societies and now apply all over Europe given the organisation¿s unprecedented geographical enlargement since 1989. In this connection, the Council of Europe has played a key role in the accession of the new member states to the European Union. The first section of the book deals with the "constitutional" law of the Council of Europe, or its internal statutes in the broad sense. It covers the 1949 Statute, which, along with related texts, lays down the Council¿s aims and determines its membership and operating methods. The second section concerns the role played by the Council of Europe - which has always been very active in standard-setting - in the harmonisation of European states¿ domestic law. The third section situates Council of Europe law in the European context. For instance, it studies the extent to which Council of Europe conventions have been incorporated in domestic law and how Council of Europe law and European Union law co-exist.
The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.
The Inter-State Application under the European Convention on Human Rights provides the first comprehensive monograph about the State-to-State human rights enforcement mechanism. The functions of the mechanism include also dispute settlement aspects, which are related to the compulsory jurisdiction of the Strasbourg Court. The study provides a full account of the development of the Inter-State Application under Article 33 ECHR and puts its case law in the relevant historical and institutional context. The analysis concludes with detailed reform considerations which are situated within the discussion about the role of the European Court of Human Rights. The focus lies on the possibility to address and improve systemic human rights deficits beyond the single case. The Court’s growing inter-State docket evidences the need for legal certainty. See inside the book.
The best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.
