Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Terms of reference:

1. The committee shall consider all legal and human rights matters (including proposals for and the preparation of statutory opinions on draft Council of Europe conventions) which fall within the competence of the Council of Europe.
2. The committee shall in particular consider: human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in the member states of the Council of Europe; judical institutions (as well as ombudspersons and national human rights intitutions), the police, detention centres and prisons in the member states of the Council of Europe; the rights of national and other minorities; questions of discrimination on any ground such as sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status, with the exception of discrimination on the grounds of gender to be considered by the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men; all matters concerning the human rights treaties and mechanisms of the Council of Europe, notably the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols, the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and other international instruments; criminal law and criminology, the treatment of offenders and conditions of detention; legal and human rights issues relating to the fight against terrorism.
3. The committee shall give an opinion on the law, legal practice and the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms of applicant states for membership of the Council of Europe, to assess compliance with Council of Europe standards.
4. The committee shall promote Council of Europe standard-setting legal instruments in the field of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law in non-member states.
5. The committee shall be in charge of interviewing all candidates for posts of judges to the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, before their election by the Assembly.  It shall also examine the curricula vitae of candidates to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
6. The committee shall follow the activities of and maintain working relations with the relevant European and international organisations, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the OSCE (notably the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the High Commissioner on National Minorities), the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the International Law Commission and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT).
7. The committee shall follow the activities of the European Ombudsmen Conference.
8. The committee shall participate in the work of the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission).
9. The committee shall represent the Assembly in and follow the work of the relevant intergovernmental expert committees of the Council of Europe.
10. The committee shall share the Assembly representation in the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

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PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights