CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

PETR VÁLEK CYIL 14 (2023) Finally, upon proposal of the Icelandic Presidency, the “Declaration in support of the EPA on the Register of Damage” was attached as the Appendix I to the Reykjavík Declaration, by which its signatories express their “political support by having joined or intending to join the EPA“ 27 . The purpose of this declaration was two-fold. First, it brought to the Register of Damage the much welcome visibility (on behalf of the Czech Republic, the Declaration was signed by President Pavel on May 17, 2023) and, second, it enabled those States that have not yet finalized their domestic approval procedures, to voice their political support. This was the case for Andorra, Bulgaria, Mexico and Switzerland. 3. The Legal Nature of the Enlarged Partial Agreements of the Council of Europe When I was preparing myself for the negotiations of the EPA on the Register of Damage, I have not found almost anything published on partial, enlarged partial and enlarged agreements of the Council of Europe, despite the fact that this legal form has been frequently used during the history of this organization to establish various successful institutions. The best known is perhaps the European Commission for Democracy through Law (hereinafter, the “Venice Commission”), but in the same way, the Council of Europe established also its Development Bank, Pompidou Group and several other bodies. 28 Therefore, I would like to fill this gap with the outcomes of my research and add my commentary thereto. The basic legal framework for partial, enlarged partial and enlarged agreements of the Council of Europe consists of two statutory resolutions of the Committee of Ministers. The first one is the 1993 Statutory Resolution on partial and enlarged agreements 29 (hereinafter, the “1993 Statutory Resolution”) that replaced the Statutory Resolution on Partial Agreements from 1951. Part I of the 1993 Statutory Resolution is particularly relevant, as it clarifies the various types of these agreements: (i) a “Partial Agreement” covers activities carried out by some member States of the Council of Europe, (ii) an “Enlarged Partial Agreement” covers activities carried out by some member States of the Council of Europe together with one or more non-member States and (iii) an “Enlarged Agreement” covers activities carried out by all member States of the Council of Europe together with one or more non-member States. As stated above, for the Register of Damage, the option under (ii) was chosen. The second one is the 1996 Statutory Resolution establishing the criteria for Partial and Enlarged Agreements of the Council of Europe 30 . These new criteria include a minimum number of member States in the Committee of Ministers necessary for establishing the EPA which is one third of them. This meant that for the adoption of the EPA on the Register of Damage, the minimal support of 16 member States was required. Furthermore, the 1996 Statutory Resolution sets out that “new agreements shall be created for an initial trial period of not more than three years.” 31 27 See supra 13, p. 10. 28 The full list of partial and enlarged agreements can be found on the website of the Council of Europe: https:// www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list1. 29 Statutory Resolution No. (93)28 on partial and enlarged agreements, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on May 14, 1993. 30 Statutory Resolution No. (96)36 establishing the criteria for Partial and Enlarged Agreements of the Council of Europe, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on October 17, 1996. 31 Ibid. , para. 6.

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