CoE Ministers stress ECHR Judgements execution +Constitutional reforms in Bosnia while Turkey looms

2010 Annual CoE's Committee of Ministers collectively stressed the need for ECHR Judgements' implementation, and its Secretary General Thornbjorn Jagland pointed at the importance of CoE's Monitoring bodies, shortly before the PanEuropean Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, visits Turkey later this month, which holds a record , among CoE's 47 Member Countries, on still pending and non-implemented ECHR's judgements revealing Systemic problems, adding to repetitive complaints by victims of continuing violations that notoriously overload Strasbourg's Court.

Foreign Ministers from 47 CoE's Member States and other Political Representatives formally stressed that "prompt and effective Execution of the Judgments and decisions delivered by the Court (of Human Rights) is essential", not only "for the Credibility", but also for the "Effectiveness of the (PanEuropean) Convention System", as well as "a Determining Factor in reducing the Pressure on the Court" in Strasbourg by a growing number of applications against violations which could have been avoided or stopped if ECHR's judgements were implemented. For the 1st time, CoE's highest Political body fixed an official Deadline "by December 2010" in order to "bring .. to a Conclusion" the relevanyt "work" that it "instructed its Deputies (Permanent Representatives/Ambassadors) to do, by "step(ping) up their efforts to make (ECHR Judgements') Execution Supervision more Effective and Transparent", f.ex. vis a vis the Press.

- "This requires the joint efforts of (CoE's) member States and (of) the (CoE's) Committee of Ministers", the decision observed, since, according to CoE's Treaties, all its Member States must undertake the commitment to abide by ECHR's judgements, and the main control of the respect of this obligation is entrusted precisely to the Committee of Ministers.

Speaking later at a Press Conference, together with outgoing Swiss Presidency's Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey (comp. her replies to "EuroFora"'s questions when she assumed CoE's chair, back on November 2009), and incoming May-November 2010 chairman, Foreign Minister of the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Antonio Miloshoski, CoE's Secretary General, Thorbjorn Jagland stressed to Strasbourg Journalists, including "EuroFora", that "the Court is very important, but alone it can't do much, without CoE's various Monitoring bodies", which can help implement its case-law.

Jagland, developing further a Strategic formula for CoE's main role, that he had already highlighted in reply to "EuroFora"'s questions in his Press Conferences of October 2009 and January 2010 (See previous "EuroFora"s NewsReports on both events), also underlined the fact that Strasbourg's PanEuropean Organization is the only one which can create a Common Legal Space in a Wide GeoPolitical Area extending to more than 47 Countries, going well beyond the 27 EU Member States and including f.ex. also Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, etc. together with Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, etc, particularly in domains such as Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law, according to the main CoE's aims fixed by its 3rd Summit of Heads of State/Government since 2005 in Warsaw, which fit quite well the concept of "Soft Security", recently promoted in Strasbourg also by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, as he observed (See "EuroFora"'s earlier publications).

However, CoE's "Monitoring" bodies, whose importance was rightfully stressed by CoE's Secretary General Jagland (See supra), such as the PanEuropean Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee to prevent Torture, the ECRI anti-Discrimination and anti-Racism watchdog, CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, CoE's Committee of Ministers itself, which is entrusted by the Treaties with the main task to "supervise the Execution of ECHR's Judgements", etc, as well as the much needed "Transparency" to widespread, informed and critical Press, as today's decision stressed (See supra), might face some Problems by the fact that, for the 1st time in CoE's 60 Years of History, one and the same State among its 47 Member Countries is to be entrusted to hold Top Jobs at the Chair of CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, after its Congress of Local/Regional Authorities, and soon (from November 2010 up to May 2011) even into CoE's Committee of Ministers !

Legitimate Worries, particularly on Human Rights' issues, are obviously inevitable, when such a rare synchronous Monopolization of 2 or 3 Top Jobs inside CoE by one and the same State concerns .. Turkey, i.e. precisely that State which notoriously has yet to deal with many exceptionaly grave Violations of Human Rights, (such as Impunity for Killings, Enforced Disappearances, Oppression of Freedom of Speech and/or Religious and other Minorities' rights, arbitrary Deprivations of personal Liberty, obstruction against Refugees' return and/or Usurpation or Destruction of their Family Homes and/or private Properties, etc), and, even today figures as a No 1 Record - high responsible (among CoE's 47 Member States) for failing to implement the most numerous ECHR's Judgements which are still Pending for execution at the Committe of Ministers on systemic violations which reveal serious, structural problems, as CoE's most recent Data revealed since the beginning of 2010 (See relevant Graphic).

Thus, CoE entered a Strange, Unprecedented period from this May 2010 until May 2011, during which, Strasbourg's PanEuropean Organization will have to face the Paradox that its main "Monitoring" body entrusted with the task to supervise the execution of ECHR's Judgements (the Committee of Ministers) will be chaired ... by that Member State : Turkey, which keeps still non-implemlented the greatest number of important ECHR Judgements revealing serious systemic, structural Problems, (already from now, since Turkey starts to chair the Human Rights' meetings as vice-President since May, according to the usual CoE rotating practice)

Turkey was also the last among CoE's numerous Member States to still have to reply if and when it will accept CoE's Rapporteur on ECHR judgements' execution, President of CoE Parliamentary Assembly's Legal and Human Rights Committee, Christos Pourgourides from Cyprus, to visit Ankara, as he has already done f.ex. in Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Greece, Moldova, Romania, etc. : - "I am still waiting from the Turkish Government's acceptance, and, therefore, until then, I have to postpone my Report on the implementation of ECHR's Judgements by CoE's Member Countries", Chairman Pourgourides recently told "EuroFora".

Dutch MEP Marie-Louise Bernelmans-Videc, PACE's Rapporteur for the "Interlaken process" on boostong ECHR's effectiveness, has just (April 2010) stressed that she "fully endorse(s) the view of Chairman Pourgourides... that "the (CoE's) Assembly may - in the Future- seriously need to consider Suspending the Voting Rights of a National Delegation where its National Parliament does not seriously exercice Parliamentary Control over the Executive in cases of Non-Implementation of Strasbourg Court Judgements" (2009). This Thinking is in line with the strong position (CoE) appears to be taking on this subject", she added, referring, inter alia, also to a June 2008 PanEuropean "Colloquy organized in Stockholm (Sweden), ..entitled "Towards a Stronger Implementation of the ECHR at National level".

Until now, however, CoE's Assembly has already suspended and/or considered to suspend MEPs' Rights, for various reasons, against the Ukranian, Russian and other National Delegations, threatening in the recent Past even ... superpower USA's "special Status" as "observer" at the CoE, and has notoriously thrown Belarus' "special" representatives out, (in addition, obviously, to the Greek former Military regime of 1967-1974, obliged to leave the CoE), but, curiously, it has never suspended Turkish MP's credentials or "voting rights", (with the only, partial "exception" of a simple threat, never put into practice, back on 1995)...

Meanwhile, at another relevant development, CoE's Committee of Ministers' 2010 Session officially confirmed that it "discussed" "the situation in Bosnia-Herzegobina", another Member State of the PanEuropean organization, "following the December 2009 ECHR's Judgement in the "Sedjic and Finci" case", which mainly concerns key aspects of that Country's Constitution, that both CoE's outgoing and incoming Chairs, Swiss Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey and "FYROM"'s Foreign Minister Miloshoski, asked to modify in order to bring its Constitutional rules in accordance with ECHR's standards :

- In particular, CoE's Collective leadership decided to officially "Urge the Authorities" of that CoE Member State "to bring the Country's Constitution and Laws in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, as a matter or Priority". For that purpose, CoE "call(s) upon" them "to take into account the relevant opinions of (CoE's watchdog on Constitutional Law) the Venice Commission for Democracy through Law in this regard", (i.e. for the Changes needed to Bosnia's Constitution).

Indeed, as the experienced President of CoE's "Venice Commission", Gianni Buquicchio (Comp. his other statements in Replies to "EuroFora"'s Questions, already published earlier) revently stressed, speaking to Strasbourg's Journalists including "EuroFora", Bosnia Herzegobina needs to change its Constitution, stemming from the old "Dayton" agreements, which were useful in the Past in order to contribute to stop the War and violent Conflicts at the area of the Former Yugoslavia, but aren't no more adequate today, nor compatible with the Country's Future aspirations and prospects, which should now be brought closer to European Democratic Standards.

Topically, this May 2010 CoE's collective move on the need for Bosnia to change its Constitution according to ECHR's Judgements and Venice Commission's avis (See supra), came while Turkey itself is notoriously preparing to change its Constitution, which notoriously originated from the former .. Military Turkish Junta back in the 1980ies, and still keeps some out-dated rules from the .. Attaturc period of an ultra-centralized State of the 19th Century, drafted shortly after the Armenian Genocide and the massacre and forced expulsion of Greek inhabitants from their 3-Millenary Homeland of Smyrne/(re-named afterwards Izmir).

However, this apparently at least partially positive intention by the current Turkish Government, reportedly seems to be focused mainly at determining only whose power is to appoint new Judges, without touching upon other and more important Problems already found in the Turkish Constitution and denounced both by CoE's Parliamentary Assembly in the Past and its Constitutional Law watchdog, the "Venice Commission"; (as, f.ex. on Freedom of Expression, Religious and other Minorities, the 10% excessive Threshhold which excludes from Democratic Reprsentation with MPs' seats any Minority, even if it succeeds to attract more then 50% of People's Votes in many areas, unless it also gathers more than 10% all over Turkey)...

That's why, the experienced President of CoE's "Venice Commission", Gianni Buquicchio, (Comp. his other statements in Replies to "EuroFora"'s Questions, already published earlier), recently expressed in Strasbourg his "Regrets" for the fact that Turkey (as Bosnia : See supra) had not yet consulted, nor entered into Dialogue with CoE's watchdog on Constitutional Law in order to examine Ankara's draft Constitutional Reform and advise it on the main points where it needs to make Changes as a matter of Priority in order to make Turkey's Constitution really compatible with European Standards, (See, for more concrete Details, and the full Bucquicchio statement, the relevant "EuroFora"'s earlier Newsreport).

Time seems to urge, since the next Plenary meeting of CoE's "Venice Commission" is scheduled for the beginning of June, while Turkey reportedly intends to vote on its Constitutional Reform on September.

But, in case of "Urgency", CoE's Venice Commission may exceptionaly give a Legal Advice rather Fast : even in a Month, in a few weeks, or Days, sometimes even in a few Hours", as Buquicchio also added at another recent meeting with Strasbourg's Journalists, including "EuroFora" (See this week's earlier "EuroFora"'s publication).