Statement by Iceland in the exchange of views with Mr Robert Spano, President of the European Court of Human Rights
Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers, 1414th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies. Statement delivered by Ambassador Ragnhildur Arnljótsdóttir.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We welcome today’s interaction with the President of the Court.
Mr. President, it is impressive how the Court has managed to adapt to the unprecedented situation arising from the pandemic and how the Court has been able to continue to carry out its important mission despite the challenging circumstances. Mr. President, we thank the Court’s judges and staff for their dedication.
We take good note of the statistics shared for this meeting, the continued increase in new applications, and the Court’s new case-processing strategy. We do want a Court that matters and understand that a paradigm shift is indeed necessary.
Throughout its sixty years, the Court has met difficult challenges and through its judgments, the Court has contributed to the harmonization of European standards for the rights and freedoms of more than 830 million Europeans.
Last week, we concluded the 11th meeting of the so called 47+1 group on the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. I wanted to take this opportunity to ask you, Mr. President, as you have recently spoken out in favor of EU accession, what you consider to be the benefits? Is there a danger that EU accession weakens the Strasbourg Court in relation to the Luxembourg Court?
I thank you.