904th meeting – 17 November 2004

Appendix 11

(Item 10.1)

Specific terms of reference of the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI)

1.         Name of Committee:

Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI)

2.         Type of Committee:

Ad hoc Committee of Experts

3.         Source of terms of reference:

Committee of Ministers

4.         Terms of reference:

Under the authority of the Committee of Ministers, the Committee is instructed to examine questions of public international law, to exchange and, if appropriate, to coordinate the views of member states at the request of the Committee of Ministers, Steering Committees and Ad Hoc Committees and at its own initiative.

5.         Membership of the Committee:

a.         The Committee is composed of experts appointed by member states, preferably chosen among the Legal Advisers to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Travel and subsistence expenses of one expert per member state (two for the state assuming the Chair of the Committee) are borne by the Council of Europe budget.

b.         The European Community may send representatives to meetings of the Committee, without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses. 

c.         The following observers with the Council of Europe may send a representative to meetings of the Committee, without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses:

- Canada;

- Holy See;

- Japan;

- Mexico;

- United States of America.

d.         The following observers with the Committee may send representatives to meetings of the Committee, without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses:

- Australia;

- Israel[1];

- New Zealand;

- The Hague Conference on Private International Law;

- The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)[2];

- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);

- The United Nations and its specialised agencies[3];

- International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC);

- European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN)[4];

- International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).

6.         Structures and working methods:

The CAHDI may set up working groups and have recourse to consultant experts.

7.         Duration:

The present terms of reference expire on 31 December 2006.