Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, Latvia, Romania, Moldova, Armenia, and Estonia have activated Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the Council of Europe spokesperson contacted by EUROPE on Friday 20 March.
In the event of “war or public emergency threatening the life of the Nation”, this article allows a signatory country to derogate, “to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation”, from its obligation to guarantee certain rights and freedoms protected by the Convention. Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (prohibition of torture and ill-treatment), 4&1 (prohibition of slavery and forced labour) and 7 (no punishment without law) are strictly excluded from this derogation.
As required by the procedure, the five Member States concerned have formally notified their activation of Article 15 to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. It is responsible for informing the other Contracting States of the Convention.
“ We did not encourage or oblige member states to use Art 15, but they are in their full right to do so and the Council of Europe has to inform its member states when this happens”, said Daniel Holtgen, spokesman for the Council of Europe.
“As things stand at present, the measures taken by Member States are already covered by the Convention, mainly through Article 11, paragraph 2, which states that the freedom of assembly and association provided for in this article may be subject to restrictions ‘prescribed by law’ which are ‘measures necessary in a democratic society’ [...] for the protection of public health”.
Member States need to activate Article 15 only if they plan to implement measures not covered by the Convention. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)