§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy(a) to oppose the introduction of new admissibility criteria for individual petitioners to the European Court of Human Rights and (b) to urge all member states to consult on the matter with (i) the legal community and (ii) civil society; and if he will make a statement. [138795]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Government supports the introduction of the new admissibility criteria for individual petitioners to the European Court of Human Rights. The new admissibility criteria are not designed to restrict the right of individual application. But if the Court is not given discretion to apply the new criteria, that right could be put at risk by the ever-increasing volume of applications which prevents the Court from dealing with any applications in a reasonable time.
The Government endorses paragraph 14 of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers' Declaration of 15 May, which encourages the Governments of member states to share information on this matter with civil society. Civil society representatives and independent experts will have the opportunity to raise questions at a Symposium at the Council of Europe on 17 November, with a further symposium proposed for early 2004.