Council of Europe rejects political pressure on ECHR in Meloni response

Published connected 24/05/2025 - 18:00 GMT+2•Updated 20:49

"Debate is healthy, but politicising nan Court is not. In a nine governed by nan norm of law, nary judicial assemblage should beryllium taxable to governmental pressure," Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said successful a connection connected Saturday.

The Council of Europe's reply is successful consequence to nan missive that Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni's authorities signed together pinch 8 different European countries calling for an amendment to nan European Convention connected Human Rights.

"On 22 May 2025, astatine nan inaugural of Denmark and Italy, 9 personnel states of nan Council of Europe - including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland - published a associated missive calling for a 'new and unfastened conversation' connected really nan European Court of Human Rights interprets nan European Convention connected Human Rights," writes Berset successful nan message.

"Their interest relates to judgments connected migration. These are analyzable challenges and democracies must ever stay unfastened to reflection done nan due organization channels. But clarity is essential,' Berset explains.

The caput past states that nan European Court of Human Rights is not an outer body. It is nan ineligible limb of nan Council of Europe - created by nan personnel states, established by sovereign prime and bound by a Convention that each 46 members person freely signed and ratified.

"It exists to protect nan authorities and values they person pledged to defend. The defence of nan Court's independency and impartiality is our foundation," Berset adds.

"Debate is healthy, but politicising nan Court is not. In a nine governed by nan norm of law, nary judicial assemblage should beryllium taxable to governmental pressure. Institutions that protect basal authorities cannot crook to governmental cycles. "

"If they do, we consequence eroding nan stableness that they themselves must guarantee,' nan caput writes: 'The Court must not beryllium utilized arsenic a weapon, neither against governments, nor by them'.

Berset past recalls that successful 2025 nan Convention will beryllium 75 years aged and that nan Court has brought its principles to life, guiding European states done threats to judicial independence, governmental turmoil and moreover war.

"The European Court of Human Rights is nan only world tribunal that judges quality authorities violations successful nan discourse of Russia's warfare of aggression against Ukraine. This should ne'er beryllium compromised," Berset adds.

"In facing today's analyzable challenges, our task is not to weaken nan Convention, but to support it beardown and applicable - to guarantee that state and security, justness and accountability, are kept successful balance. This is nan bequest we receive. And it is nan work we share,' nan missive concludes.