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PACE calls on the Council of Europe member states to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the problems in the legal system in order to prevent repeated cases in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). As our correspondent reports from Strasbourg, PACE discussed this issue at the evening session on January 22. 

Based on a report by Ukrainian MP Sergey Kivalov on the activities of Strasbourg court, PACE calls on those countries where legal procedures are dragged out or death and missing cases are not investigated to “take resolute actions.”

Bulgaria, Italy, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine were mentioned as countries having the systemic problem. So PACE called on its member states to change their laws, to bring them in line with ECtHR precedent laws, raising awareness of the European Convention of Human Rights, as well as to closer cooperate with the civil society.

“The European Court of Human Rights is not only a cornerstone in the defense of fundamental rights, but also a reference point for national judges," Italian Justice Minister Paola Severino said in her remarks.

The Italian Minister highlighted a series of tailored measures to reduce national prison overcrowding, underlining the creation of 3.178 new places in 2012 and the final objective of 11.700 ones at the end of 2014.

Moreover, Ms. Severino emphasized the relevance of some best practices introduced in the framework of the efficiency of the justice system and the ratification of Council of Europe conventions.