Statute of the Council of Europe

Statute of the Council of Europe
Type	Multilateral treaty
Signed	5 May 1949
Location	London, England, United Kingdom
Original; signatories	Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom
Ratifiers	46 states

The Statute of the Council of Europe (also known as the Treaty of London (1949)), signed on 5 May 1949, brought into existence the Council of Europe, an international organisation open to all European states devoted to "the pursuit of peace based on justice and international co-operation".^[1] The Statute sets out the guiding principles of the organisation - to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law - as well as the mandates and functioning of its two statutory bodies, the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.

The original signatories in 1949 were Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, though the Statute has now been signed and ratified by 46 European states. Only Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the Vatican City (the Holy See) are not members, while Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022 after 26 years of membership - the only country ever to be expelled in the history of the Organisation - because of its aggression against Ukraine and invasion of a fellow member state, regarded as an extreme violation of the Statute.^[2]

The treaty was registered with the United Nations on 11 April 1951 with Treaty Number I:1168, vol.87, page 103.^[3]

References

^ "Statute of the Council of Europe *". European Treaty Series - No. 1. London. 1949. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024 – via rm.coe.int. Convinced that the pursuit of peace based upon justice and international co-operation is vital for the preservation of human society and civilisation;
^ "The Russian Federation is excluded from the Council of Europe". Council of Europe Newsroom (Press release). 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024.
^ "Statute of the Council of Europe. Signed at London, on 5 May 1949" (PDF). 11 April 1951 [5 May 1949]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013 – via treaties.un.org.