COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

COMITE DES MINISTRES

 

 

Strasbourg, 2 September 1997 Restricted 

CM (97)144

 

For consideration at the 602nd meeting

of the Ministers' Deputies

(30 September 1997, B level, item 10.2)

 

 

 

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LEGAL CO-OPERATION (CDCJ)

 

 

Abridged Report of the 67th meeting

(41st meeting as a Steering Committee)

 

Strasbourg, 27-30 May 1997

 

 

 

LIST OF ITEMS DISCUSSED AND DECISIONS TAKEN

 

 

1. The European Committee on legal co-operation (CDCJ) met in Strasbourg from 27 to 30 May 1997. The list of participants and the agenda appear in Appendices I and II respectively.

 

ITEMS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR DECISION

 

2. The CDCJ invited the Committee of Ministers to adopt the text of the draft Recommendation concerning the protection of personal data collected and processed for statistical purposes and to authorise the publication of its explanatory memorandum (see item 9 of the agenda and the addendum to this report)

__________

 

The detailed report of the meeting (document CDCJ(97)30) may be obtained from the Directorate of Legal Affairs.

 

ITEMS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS FOR INFORMATION

 

 

3. The CDCJ forwarded for the attention of the Committee of Ministers its Opinion on paragraph 6.i of Recommendation 1315 (1997) of the Parliamentary Assembly on the minimum age for voting (see item 11.a of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30) and Appendix III).

 

4. The CDCJ invited the Committee of Ministers to note:

 

  • a. the request of the CDCJ to Delegations to encourage their respective States to sign the European Convention on nationality when it is opened to signature in Strasbourg on 7 November 1997 during the 101st Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (see item 4 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    b. the request of the CDCJ to the Project Group on administrative law (CJ-DA) and to the Multidisciplinary Group against Corruption (GMC) to take account of Recommendation 1322 (1997) of the Parliamentary Assembly on civil service in an enlarged Europe (see item 4 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    1.  
    2. its discussions concerning the 21st Conference of European Ministers of Justice (Prague, June 1997) (see item 6.a of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));
    3.  
    4. the views of the CDCJ concerning the priority nature of its work and the need to ensure, in the intergovernmental programme of activities for 1998, sufficient resources for enable it to carry out as rapidly as possible its programme of activities (see item 7 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));
    5.  
    6. its discussions concerning the management of its subordinate committees (see item 8 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

     

  • f. the decision of the CDCJ to publish a Manual on information technology applications in correctional administration (see item 10 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    g. the appointment by the CDCJ of its members and substitute members to the Group of Specialists on access to information (MM-S-AC), to the Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption (GMC), and, subject to the setting up of this Group by the Committee of Ministers, to the Multisectorial Group on action against trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation (EG-S-TS) (see item 11.b of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    • 5. The CDCJ considered:

     

  • a. the work carried out under its authority and took a number of decisions concerning the activities of certain committees (see item 5 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    b. the preparation of the XXVIIth Colloquy on European Law (see item 6.b of the agenda) and, for 1998, the proposed 13th Colloquy on legal data processing in Europe and the proposed 4th European Conference on family law (see items 5.e.vii and 7 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    c. the operation of the European Convention on the adoption of children (see item 12 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    • 6. The CDCJ took note of:

     

  • a. information concerning legal co-operation with the Central and Eastern European States in fields for which the CDCJ is responsible (see item 13.a of the agenda);

    b. information concerning other legal work carried out within the Council of Europe (see item 13.a of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    c. reports on the work carried out by the International Commission on civil status and UNIDROIT (see item 13.b of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

    • 7. The CDCJ decided to hold its next meeting during the week beginning 24 November 1997 (see item 15 of the meeting report’s agenda (CDCJ(97)30));

     

    8. Finally the CDCJ invited the Committee of Ministers to take note of the report as a whole.

     

     

     

    ANNEXE I / APPENDIX I

     

     

     

    LISTE DES PARTICIPANTS / LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

     

     

    ALBANIE/ALBANIA : excusé/apologised

     

    ANDORRE/ANDORRA : excusé/apologised

     

    AUTRICHE/AUSTRIA : Mr Werner Schütz, Ministère Fédéral de la Justice, Wien

     

    BELGIQUE/BELGIUM : Mme Roseline Demoustier, Ministère de la Justice, Bruxelles

     

    BULGARIE/BULGARIA : Mr Ognian Bakalov, Ministry of Justice, Sofia

     

    CROATIE/CROATIA : Mrs Lidija Lukina-Karajkovic, Ministry of Justice, Zagreb

     

    CHYPRE/CYPRUS : Mrs Anny Shakalli, Ministry of Justice and Public Order, Nicosia

     

    REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE/CZECH REPUBLIC : Ms Jana Wurstová, Mrs Jitka Machova, Ministry of Justice, Praha

     

    DANEMARK/DENMARK : Mr Arnt Nielsen, Ministry of Justice, Copenhagen

     

    ESTONIE/ESTONIA : Mrs Imbi Markus, Ministry of Justice, Tallinn

     

    FINLANDE/FINLAND : Mr Pekka Nurmi, Ministry of Justice, Helsinki

     

    FRANCE : M. Bruno Sturlese, Ministère de la Justice, Paris - M. Philippe Cavalerie, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Paris

     

    ALLEMAGNE/GERMANY : Mr Wolfgang Birke, Mr Eberhard Desch, Bundesministerium der Justiz, Bonn

     

    GRECE/GREECE : M. Georges Koumantos, Université d'Athènes, Athènes - Mrs Phani Dascalopoulou-Livada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Athens

     

    HONGRIE/HUNGARY : Mr Tamás Bán, Ministry of Justice, Budapest

     

    ISLANDE/ICELAND : Mr Thorsteinn Geirsson, Ministry of Justice, Reykjavik

    IRLANDE/IRELAND : Ms Emer Kilcullen, Department of Foreign Affairs, Dublin

     

    ITALIE/ITALY : M. Giuseppe Magno, Ministère de la Justice, Rome

     

    LETTONIE/LATVIA : Mrs Inese Krastina, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riga

     

    LIECHTENSTEIN : M. Arnold Oehry, Landgerichtsrat, Schaan

     

    LITUANIE/LITHUANIA : Mrs Ausra Bernotiene, Ministry of Justice, Vilnius

     

    LUXEMBOURG : M. Claude Bicheler, Conseil arbitral des assurances sociales, Luxembourg

     

    MALTE/MALTA : Mr Vincent Anthony De Gaetano, Courts of Justice, Valletta

     

    MOLDOVA : M. Vitalie Nagacevschi, Ministère de la Justice, Chisinau

     

    PAYS-BAS/NETHERLANDS : excusé/apologised

     

    NORVEGE/NORWAY : Mr Inge Lorange Backer, Ministry of Justice, Oslo

     

    POLOGNE/POLAND : Mr Igor Dzialuk, Mr Andrzej Ryng, Ministry of Justice, Warsaw

     

    PORTUGAL : M. Luis Vaz das Neves, Ministère de la Justice, Lisboa

     

    ROUMANIE/ROMANIA : M. Dinu Ianculescu, Ministère de la Justice, Bucarest

     

    FEDERATION DE RUSSIE/RUSSIAN FEDERATION : Mr Konstantine Chakhmouradov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow

     

    SAINT-MARIN/SAN MARINO : Mme Paola Casali, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Milan

     

    SLOVAQUIE/SLOVAKIA : Mr Miloš Ha_apka, Ministry of Justice, Bratislava

     

    SLOVENIE/SLOVENIA : Mrs Tatjana Krivec Tav_ar, Ministry of Justice, Ljubljana

     

    ESPAGNE/SPAIN : Mr Alfredo Pascual Martinez, Ministry of Justice, Madrid

     

    SUEDE/SWEDEN : Mr Dag Mattsson, Ministry of Justice, Stockholm

     

    SUISSE/SWITZERLAND : M. Philippe Boillat, Office Fédéral de la Justice, Berne - M. Jean-Philippe Walter, Département Fédéral de Justice et Police, Berne

     

    "L'EX-REPUBLIQUE YOUGOSLAVE DE MACEDOINE"/"THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA" : Mr Naum Grizo, Faculté de Droit, Skopje

     

    TURQUIE/TURKEY : M. Turgay Yücel, Ministère de la Justice, Ankara

     

    UKRAINE : Mme Inna Ohnivets, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv

     

    ROYAUME-UNI/UNITED KINGDOM : Mr Edwin Philip Kilby, Lord Chancellor's Department, London - Mr Peter Beaton, Scottish Courts Administration, Edinburgh excusé/apologised

     

     

    COMMUNAUTE EUROPEENNE/EUROPEAN COMMUNITY :

     

    Commission : M. Alessandro Ianniello, Bruxelles

     

    COMMISSION DES QUESTIONS JURIDIQUES ET DES DROITS DE L'HOMME DE L'ASSEMBLEE PARLEMENTAIRE/COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AFFAIRS AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY : Mr Vasyl V. Kostytsky, Ukrainian Parliament, Kyiv

     

    OBSERVATEURS/OBSERVERS

     

    ARMENIE/ARMENIA : excusé/apologised

     

    AZERBAIDJAN/AZERBAIJAN : Mr Agalar Azamoglanov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Baku

     

    BELARUS : Mr Valery Ramashka, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minsk

     

    BOSNIE ET HERZOGOVINE/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : Mr Djordje Kocetkov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sarajevo

     

    CANADA : Mrs Oonagh Elisabeth Fitzgerald, Department of Justice, Ottawa

     

    GEORGIE/GEORGIA : Mr Malkhaz Kakabadze, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tbilisi

     

    SAINT-SIEGE/HOLY SEE : Mme Odile Ganghofer, Strasbourg

     

    JAPON/JAPAN : Mr Takeshi Goto, Consulat Général du Japon, Strasbourg

     

    ETATS-UNIS D'AMERIQUE/UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : excusé/apologised

     

     

    COMITE CONSULTATIF JURIDIQUE ASIO-AFRICAIN/ASIAN AFRICAN LEGAL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE : excusé/apologised

     

    COMMISSION INTERNATIONALE DE L'ETAT CIVIL/INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON CIVIL STATUS : M. Jacques Massip, M. Frits W. Hondius, Strasbourg

     

    COMMISSION DU DROIT INTERNATIONAL DES NATIONS-UNIES/INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS : excusé/apologised

     

    CONFERENCE DE LA HAYE DE DROIT INTERNATIONAL PRIVE/THE HAGUE CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW : M. Hans van Loon, La Haye excusé/apologised

     

    OCDE/OECD : excusé/apologised

     

    BUREAU DES INSTITUTIONS DEMOCRATIQUES ET DES DROITS DE L'HOMME/ OFFICE FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS (BIDDH/ODIHR):

    excusé/apologised

     

    UNIDROIT : Mme Marina Schneider, Rome

     

    COMMISSION DES NATIONS UNIES POUR LE DROIT COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL/UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW (CNUDCI/UNCITRAL) : excusé/apologised

     

    CONSEIL DES BARREAUX DE LA COMMUNAUTE EUROPEENNE/COUNCIL OF THE BARS AND LAW SOCIETIES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY : M. Michel Van Doosselaere, Bruxelles

     

    SECRETARIAT

     

     

    Direction des Affaires Juridiques: M. Guy De Vel, Directeur; Mme Marie-Odile Wiederkehr, Directrice adjointe; Mme Margaret Killerby, Chef de la Division I, Secrétaire du CDCJ; Mlle Dörte-Catrin Fickje, Administrateur Principal; M. Roberto Lamponi, Administrateur Principal; M. Carlos de Sola, Administrateur Principal; Mme Danielle Coin, Greffe de l'Assemblée; Mlle Marta Requena, Administratrice; M. Rafael Benitez, Administrateur; M. Gianluca Esposito, Co-Secrétaire du CDCJ; M. Spiros Tsovilis, Agent temporaire; M. Philippe Pfrunner, Stagiaire; Mme Brigitte Rall, Secrétaire; Mme Corine Mc George, Interprète, M. Christopher Tyczka, Interprète.

     

     

    APPENDIX II

     

     

    AGENDA

     

     

     

    1. Opening of the meeting

     

    2. Adoption of the agenda

     

  • 3. Statement by the Secretariat

    • 4. Decisions of the Committee of Ministers concerning the CDCJ

     

  • 5. State of work carried out under the authority of the CDCJ

    6. Conferences and Colloquies in the legal field

    7. Future work of the CDCJ

    8. Subordinate Committees of the CDCJ

    9. Adoption of the draft Recommendation on the protection of personal data collected and processed for statistical purposes

    10. Adoption of the draft Recommendation concerning information technology applications in correctional administration

    11. Requests to the CDCJ

    12. Operation of Conventions, Agreements and Recommendations

    13. Legal work carried out outside the CDCJ

    • 14. Agenda of the 68th meeting of the CDCJ

     

  • 15. Calendar of future meetings

    16. Any other business

    •  

    APPENDIX III

     

     

    OPINION OF THE CDCJ ON PARAGRAPH 6.i OF

    RECOMMENDATION 1315 (1997) OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

    ON THE MINIMUM AGE FOR VOTING

     

     

    1. The European Committee on legal co-operation (CDCJ) considered Recommendation 1315 (1997) of the Parliamentary Assembly on the minimum age for voting and the report on this subject prepared by its rapporteur Mr R. KOLLWELTER (doc. 7724).

     

    2. Young people undoubtely play an essential role in our community. Thus the CDCJ welcomed the desire of the Parliamentary Assembly to increase the interest of young people in public affairs and in the common good and to see them become fully involved in the future of our society. Therefore, the CDCJ fully supported the proposal of the Parliamentary Assembly to create the necessary preconditions to ensure the participation of young people in civic life through education and the promotion of community involvement (paragraph 6.ii of the Recommendation).

     

    3. The Parliamentary Assembly also recommended, in the same perspective, a rapid harmonisation of the age for the right to vote and stand for election at 18 years in all countries and for all elections (paragraph 6.i of the Recommendation).

     

    4. The CDCJ considered Resolution (72) 29 of the Committee of Ministers on the lowering of the age of full legal capacity. In particular, the CDCJ noted that the Committee of Ministers recommended governments of member States "to lower the age of majority below 21 years and, if they deem it advisable, to fix that age at 18 years, provided that States may retain a higher age of capacity for the performance of certain limited and specified acts in fields where they believe that a higher degree of maturity is required". However, the CDCJ noted that the Resolution does not seek to affect the field of public law.

     

    5. For the required minimum age to exercise the right to vote, States had, with a few exceptions, adopted the age of 18 or an even lower age. This seems to correspond to the age at which persons have sufficient maturity to vote.

     

    6. The CDCJ noted that the tables in the report concerning the present situation in European countries showed that, although the age of majority in civil law matters and the age to vote (with a few exceptions) were 18 in all member countries of the Council of Europe, there were many countries in which the minimum age to stand for elections was higher.

     

    7. The CDCJ recognised that the minimum age for voting should not necessarily coincide with the minimum age in order to be eligible to stand for election and that States might consider that a higher degree of maturity was necessary to stand for election. Therefore it did not seem unreasonable to fix an age higher than 18 in order to be eligible to stand for election. However the CDCJ agreed that, these States might take the opportunity, following the adoption of Recommendation 1315, to reexamine this question.