The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rik Daems, has urged the governments of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe to abide strictly by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) when adopting emergency measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
Public emergencies may call for restrictive measures that go beyond what is normally allowed by the ECHR, he acknowledged, on Tuesday 24 March, but "without appropriate guarantees, such measures create serious risks for democracy, human rights and the rule of law".
Emphasising Article 15 of the Convention, which, when activated by States, allows them to derogate from certain rights, Rik Daems recalled that this article in no way dispenses with respect for fundamental safeguards of the rule of law (see EUROPE 12451/21), in particular: legality, effective parliamentary oversight, independent judicial control and effective domestic remedies. Human rights structures and the media must also be preserved as "checks and balances of a pluralistic democracy governed by the rule of law".
Other fundamental principles from which no derogation is permitted: - "proportionality", which limits measures to what is "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation"; - the limitation of such measures in duration, circumstances and scope.
"I am convinced that in so doing, the European nations united in the Council of Europe will overcome this crisis, without abandoning our shared values", concluded Rik Daems.
See Resolution 2209 of 2018 on questions of proportionality relating to the derogation provided for in Article 15 of the ECHR: https://bit.ly/2QImJlp (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)