The Council of Europe is not an institution of the European Union and should not be confused with the European Council or the Council of the EU. The Council of Europe was created in 1949 to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law, with almost all European states being members of the international organisation – the current exceptions being Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Santa Cruz. A major landmark is the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950 and subsequently amended.
Without legislative power, the Council of Europe promotes human rights through campaigns and conventions, with a particular focus on combating hate speech, violence against women, children and minorities, cybercrime, extremism, terrorism and corruption. The Council of Europe also helps ensure that member states have common standards by providing legal advice and experts/specialists. It also monitors member states by making recommendations through independent bodies such as the Group of States against Corruption or the European Committee of Social Rights.
There is currently no Council of Europe member state that applies the death penalty.
Structure
The structure of the Council of Europe consists of the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, the European Court of Human Rights and the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations.
Actions against the state
Individuals, companies or organisations can apply to the Court of Justice of the EU to bring a claim against any EU state or institution.
The Court ensures that EU laws are applied
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), founded in 1952 and based in Luxembourg, ensures that EU law is applied equally in all member states and resolves legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions. The most common cases it deals with involve interpretation of law, where national courts may interpret EU law differently and clarification must be sought from the CJEU; non-compliance procedures by member states, which aim to determine whether a target state is in default and issue a decision and possible fine if it does; and the annulment of legal acts of EU member states and institutions if they are deemed to violate EU treaties and fundamental rights.