Strasbourg, 20 June/juin 2014
CDDH(2014)013
English only
STEERING COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS /
COMITE DIRECTEUR POUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME
(CDDH)
______
REQUEST FOR ADMISSION AS OBSERVER
TO THE DH-GDR AND GT-GDR-F
DEMANDE D’ADMISSION EN TANT QU’OBSERVATEUR
AUPRES DU DH-GDR ET DU GT-GDR-F
OSJI
______
Secretary General
Thorbjørn Jagland
Council of Europe
Avenue de l’Europe
67075 Strasbourg Cedex
private.office@coe.int
May 13, 2014
Re: Observer status, DH-GDR and GT-GDR-F
Dear Secretary General Jagland:
This letter will serve as a request for the Open Society Justice Initiative to obtain observer status with both the
Committee of Experts on Reform of the Court (DH-GDR) and the Drafting Group F on the Reform of the
Court (GT-GDR-F), working under the authority of the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH). The
Justice Initiative’s longstanding engagement and expertise on issues within the DH-GDR’s ambit, combined
with our ability to solicit and bring views from civil society to these discussions, enables us to serve as an
effective and credible observer.
Background
Founded in 2002, the Open Society Justice Initiative is an operational program of the Open Society Foundations
(also known as the Open Society Institute), with a set of core functions focused on advocacy, litigation, and
research. The Justice Initiative’s mission is to advance the rule of law and legal protection of human rights. To
this end, we seek to strengthen norms, jurisprudence, and legal institutions that limit arbitrary power, and
nourish a culture of respect for the rule of law rooted in peoples’ everyday experience and the judgments of
courts. We believe that action by civil society, through public complaints, petitions and lawsuits, is often
necessary to bring legal principles to life.
In particular, the Justice Initiative strives to make regional and sub-regional human rights systems more stable
and effective, and to improve the implementation of judgments of regional and international human rights
judicial bodies. In Europe, we do so through litigation in the European Court of Human Rights, advocacy in
Council of Europe bodies including the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly, and
engagement with individual member States.
The European system, as the most advanced regional human rights structure, both provides millions of
individuals with access to justice where the ability to obtain redress in domestic courts is limited or impossible,
and serves as a global model for other regional institutions. As such, the Justice Initiative has prioritized the need
to respond to ongoing political and operational challenges to the European Court of Human Rights, to help build
a more positive discourse around its reform efforts, and to mobilize and connect supportive governments and
civil society actors to defend and strengthen the system.
The Justice Initiative’s Contribution
The Justice Initiative’s work in relation to the reform of the Court commenced shortly after the Interlaken
Declaration and Plan of Action was agreed in 2010 and has continued throughout the process, including
providing inputs around the Izmir and Brighton conferences. The Justice Initiative has made submissions to
express our enduring support for a robust and effective Court to particular member States or to the
Council of
Europe at every formal opportunity. A partial list of the Justice Initiative’s interventions includes:

26 October 2011: A joint letter with seven other NGOs to the U.K. government on
the pace and substance of reforms as it held the chairmanship of the Council of Europe;
 6 March 2012: A joint statement calling for strengthened protection of human rights in
Europe in the context of the reform process;
 October 2012: A briefing paper to the DH-GDR on national implementation of the
Interlaken
Declaration and Plan of Action representing the views of civil society in seven
member States;
 13 March 2014: A submission to the DH-GDR on the long-term future of the Court.
In addition to formal submissions, the Justice Initiative has provided information and, where
possible, an opportunity for civil society organizations to engage in the reform process. We created
a series of fact sheets on a range of reform proposals, and organized and participated in regular
calls with a small, informal group of NGOs deeply engaged in the reform process. We likewise
supported a group of NGOs to participate in consultations with the DH-GDR in developing its
2013 report on whether more effective measures are needed in respect of States that fail to
implement Court judgments in a timely manner.
While the Justice Initiative has taken particular positions and advanced proposals to enhance the
effectiveness both of the Court and the implementation process, we also maintain an open and
productive dialogue with personnel from the Council of Europe, including various offices of the
Court, the Human Rights and Rule of Law directorate, the Secretariat, and other organs. The
Justice Initiative has participated in and helped to
organize side meetings around the Court’s bi-annual meetings; helps to organize civil society
participation at the bi-annual meeting itself; organizes regular briefings on the execution of select
judgments for representations to the Committee of Ministers in advance of quarterly CM-DH
meetings; meets regularly with the Commissioner on Human Rights and PACE rapporteurs and
personnel; and supports civil society organizations seeking to make submissions to the Council of
Europe under Rule 9 of the Committee of Ministers’ rules of procedure.
Given the Justice Initiative’s experience working on reform issues, our extensive and close
relationships with civil society partners throughout the Council of Europe, our constructive and
credible inputs into the reform and implementation processes, and our commitment to an
effective and strong European Court of Human Rights, we believe our participation as an
observer to the GT-GDR-F would be helpful to the Council of Europe. The Open Society
Justice Initiative has been granted ad hoc observer status for the GT-GDR-F meeting on 14-16 May
2014 at the request of the Chair, which demonstrates our contribution to the GT-GDR-F process to
date.
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CDDH(2014)013
We would be happy to provide additional information, should you so require. Please do not hesitate
to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely yours,
James A. Goldston
Executive Director