28 May 1993

Doc. 6851

1403-25/5/93-4-E

MOTION FOR A RECOMMENDATION

on a Model European Penal Code

presented by Mr STOFFELEN and others


      The Assembly,

1.       Welcoming the substantial achievements of the Council of Europe over a period of forty years in the field of crime problems;

2.       Considering that the field of crime problems encompasses crime policy, national and international criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology and penology;

3.       Aware however that circumstances are changing at a rapid pace, in Europe as elsewhere, and require more and more effective European co-operation in this area;

4.       Convinced that it is the role of the Council of Europe in central and eastern Europe to uphold conditions for democracy by way of identifying and promoting human rights and the conditions for the rule of law and democracy as they apply inter alia in the specific field of crime problems;

5.       Considering that human rights, the rule of law and democratic pluralism need to be embedded not only in the constitution and the law but also in the institutions and systems that affect daily life, including the criminal justice system;

6.       Considering that, due in particular to the contribution of the Council of Europe, a comprehensive set of principles and standards in the field of crime problems has emerged along the years that finds its roots in European traditions and is thus distinctly European;

7.       Considering that it is in the interests of greater European unity that such principles and standards, rather than others, inspire the reforms under way in central and eastern Europe;

8.       Considering that such principles and standards must at the same time be confronted with and open to the influence of specific central and eastern European tradition;

9.       Considering however that such principles and standards remain to be codified, in particular as they result from different sources that include conventions, recommendations, reports, as well as the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights;

10.       Considering that the abolition of the internal borders among twelve of its members — shortly, probably more — requires co-ordination of crime policies;

11.       Considering that patterns of crime change along with political, social and economic circumstances, becoming increasingly European in scope, and thus entail the need for closer and deeper judicial and police co-operation;

12.       Considering that technological advances create new opportunities for crime that can be matched more effectively through co-ordinated action;

13.       Considering that technological advances also create new opportunities for more effectively combating crime that could usefully be reflected upon and developed in the framework of European co-operation;

14.       Recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i.       give a new impetus to its activities in the different areas within the field of crime problems and provide the necessary means to that effect;

ii.       instruct the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) to reflect upon its working methods in the light of:

      a.       the multiple tasks expected from it;

      b.       the structures of the Council of Europe and the flexibility that they afford;

      c.       the fact that members are not all affected to the same extent by the different problems assigned to it;

      d.       the need to be effective and quick in responding to present and future challenges, and make proposals accordingly;

iii.       further instruct the CDPC to draft a Model European Penal Code and a Model European Code of Criminal Procedure encompassing, inter alia, a comprehensive set of principles reflecting the standards already adopted by the Committee of Ministers, the standards generally followed by members, as well as the standards that result from the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular with a view to facilitating harmonised reform of the law and the criminal justice systems in central and eastern Europe;

iv.       further instruct the CDPC to strengthen and modernise the existing instruments of European co-operation, together with the ways and means available for their practical application, in particular with a view to facilitating the fight against transnational organised crime.

      Signed:       Stoffelen, Soutendijk-van Appeldoorn, Fry, Ward, Bindig, Guzetti, Gusenbauer, Franck, von Schmude, Kempinaire, Haller.