Council of Ministers supports the signing of Protocol 16 of the European Convention on Human Rights at the request of Junts

Eduardo González The Council of Ministers has approved this Tuesday the referral to the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament) of the agreement for the signature ad referendum of Protocol 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights at the request of Junts, the pro-independence party of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont. Protocol 16 allows the High Courts of the Member States to request advisory opinions from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on questions of principle relating to the interpretation or application of the rights and freedoms defined in the Convention. These advisory opinions, which must be reasoned and are not binding, are related to matters that are pending before the national jurisdiction. Therefore, in application of this rule, the highest Spanish courts could request prior advisory opinions from the ECHR on matters that are being processed in Spain. The decision to send the text to the Cortes was announced this Monday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who specified to the Europa Press agency that “this initiative is the result of an agreement reached at the proposal of Junts”. The Catalan party had been asking the Government to adhere to this protocol, in the midst of an internal debate on whether to go ahead with its idea of presenting a motion of confidence against Pedro Sánchez's Executive. During a press conference, the Junts executive declared this Monday in a statement that if Spain had signed Protocol 16 to the European Convention on Human Rights earlier, “the sentence of the 'procés' would probably never have been issued, nor the different sentences against President Torra, Laura Borràs and so many others”. According to the Government, the ratification of this Protocol “is in line with the commitment that Spain has made to the protection of human rights as the backbone of our foreign policy.” For her part, the Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, declared this Tuesday at the press conference following the Council of Ministers, “this will allow us to strengthen the dialogue between Spanish and European justice.” “In addition, it helps us to advance in our commitment to the protection of human rights as the backbone of our foreign policy,” she added. The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was signed in Rome on November 4, 1950, but the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided, on April 26, 2013, to introduce a series of amendments to “ensure that the European Court of Human Rights continues to play its primary role in the protection of human rights in Europe.” Protocol 16 entered into force on August 1, 2018.

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