§ Sir Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his participation in the Council of Europe 14th conference of European Ministers of Justice in Madrid and the conclusions reached by that conference.
§ Mr. BrittanWith my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General and my hon. and learned Friend the Solicitor-General for Scotland I attended this conference, which was held on 29 to 31 May.
On my initiative, the conference discussed the question of a common approach to the problem of terrorist activities, including those committed by abuse of diplomatic privileges and immunities. I urged the need for member states to act in concert against this new and dangerous threat to peace and security—for example, by refusing to accept as diplomats those who have been expelled from any other member state on grounds of involvement in terrorism, and by improving the existing arrangements for exchange of information between us about threatened terrorist acts and the Governments or groups who pose such threats.
The Ministers of Justice of the 21 Council of Europe nations subsequently unanimously agreed on the need for a concerted approach to action against all forms of 214W terrorism and international organised crime, including acts of violence against diplomats and the abuse of diplomatic immunities and privileges for terrorist purposes, recognising in particular the urgent need to improve the exchange of information between member states. They recommended to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that these questions should be studied urgently by an ad hoc body open to all Ministers exercising responsibilities relating to terrorism.
I also presented on behalf of the United Kingdom a paper on maintaining the effectiveness of the administration of criminal justice at a time of increasing crime, a copy of which I am putting in the Library of the House. The conference accepted the main conclusions set out in this paper, and agreed that the European Committee on crime problems should keep these considerations in mind in the planning of conduct of its future work.
The conference also agreed on the need for further study of the scope for harmonisation of bankruptcy law, and for the simplification of procedures for executing civil judgments.