IV East West Relations
| Published date | 01 December 1990 |
| Date | 01 December 1990 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/016934419000800409 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
Human Rights News
In its communication, the EC Commission rejects the most important
objections which were brougt forward against an EC membership of the
ECHR in the past. It argues that the protection which is presently offered
by the Court of Justice is too selective and not sufficientfor an EC with
increasing powers to impose obligations upon the citizens of Europe.
Because of the growing power of the EC, the EC's scope of action becomes
increasingly less limited to matters of a strictly economic nature. EC
decisionswill, therefore, touch upon the human rights whichare guaranteed
in the
ECHR
more frequently than before. The EC directives on the
protection of personal data and on the right of residence clearly demon-
strate this trend. In this context it is also interesting to mention the fact that
the President of the EC Commission, Jacques Delors, has signed the
European Charter during the Paris follow-up meeting of the CSCE in
November.
It
is rather peculiar for the Commission, and for the
ECin
general, to accept this Charter and at the same time remain absent from
the "Strasbourg mechanism".
The
Commission also states that the position of the
ECHR
has changed
since 1979 in that all Member States have now accepted the right for an
individual party to file a complaint with the European Commission against
their laws. As regards the EC's status and representation in the Council of
Europe (the Statute of the Council of Europe does not provide for a
membership of international organisations), the EC Commission puts
forward a solution as well. According to the Commission a future member-
Shipof the
EC
to the
ECHR
should not necessarilyimply a representation
of the
EC
in the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe since the
EC could undertake, upon accession, that all complaints brought against it
and which
are
held admissable by the Commission on Human Rights, are
to be referred automatically to the European Court of Human Rights.
IV EAST WEST RELATIONS·
"CHARTER OF PARIS" BASIS
FOR
RESTRUCTURED CSCE
By the solemn signing of the voluminous "Charter of Paris for a New
Europe" by the Heads of State or Government of the 34 participating
• Arie Bloed
431
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