ECHR reform to be discussed in Izmir next spring

Efforts to reform the European Court of Human Rights will launch next April in the coastal city of Izmir, said Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland in Ankara yesterday. "If the decision is not made in Izmir, then it will never be," he said after meeting with President Abdullah Gul and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Meeting with Davutoglu, judicial reform, ECHR reform and other issues were discussed, Jagland said. "This happening during Turkey's presidency (of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) is a historical event for the whole European continent," he added. Davutoglu said that in addition to ECHR reform, Turkey hopes for institutional reform at the CoE, strengthening the CoE's independent control mechanisms, the European Union becoming a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the establishment of a committee of "wise men."