Today, on January 17, 2008, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van der Linden meets with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

They are supposed to discuss presidential elections in Russia scheduled for March 2008 and ratification of Protocols 6 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights by Russia. The Presidents will touch upon the topic of cooperation between the PACE and Russia and strengthening of the Council of Europe as a Paneuropean organization in order to avoid policy barriers. 

Contact information: PACE communications service, tel. +33(0)3.88.41.31.93.

Press-service of the Council of Europe
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 39 11

     The Committee against Torture wants to remind you that Protocol 6 of the Convention prohibits capital punishment in member countries, and Protocol 14 reforms consideration of appeals by the European Court which may three times decrease the period of appeal review and trial. Russia has many times faced the issue of Protocol 6 ratification because capital punishment was prohibited in our country 10 years ago by a corresponding moratorium.  However, a moratorium is a temporary measure and in theory on its termination capital punishment can be used again. A lot more interest is attached to the ratification of Protocol 14. This protocol was signed  in 2007 by all countries signatory to the Convention, including our state, but in order for it to become effective it should be ratified by all member countries because it will affect the order of operation of the European Court and concern applications from all countries. In autumn 2007 there was an attempt to ratify the Protocol, but the State Duma did not pass the bill, and thus Russia became the only country that did not ratify the protocol causing serious obstacles to reforms of the European Court. We sincerely hope that this meeting will help to solve the problem of Protocol ratification providing for more effective operation of the European Court and reducing the period of trial from 6 to two or three years.