The Council of Ministers, at its meeting of 20 January 2017, on a proposal from the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Justice and the Presidency and for Territorial Administrations, has adopted an Agreement on the establishment of guidelines for the drafting of a list of candidates for the election of the President of the European Court of Human Rights.

For general knowledge, the publication is available as an annex to this Resolution.

Madrid, January 25, 2017. -Vice President of the Government and Minister of the Presidency and for Territorial Administrations, P.D. (Order PRE/934/2012 of 24 April), the Under-Secretary of the Presidency and for the Territorial Administrations, José María Jáver Gómez-Ferrer.

ANNEX

Agreement establishing guidelines for the preparation of a candidate for the election of the President of the European Court of Human Rights

Article 20 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed in Rome on 4 November 1950 and ratified by Spain on 26 September 1979 (BOE No. 243, of 10 October 1979) (ECHR, hereinafter referred to as 'ECHR'), provides that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) shall be composed of a number of judges equal to that of the Contracting Member States.

Article 22 of the ECHR provides that judges shall be elected by the Parliamentary Assembly, by a majority of votes cast, from a list of three candidates submitted by each Contracting State.

The Contracting States have repeatedly expressed their interest in ensuring that the candidates for judges who hold the ECHR meet effectively the qualities which are conventionally required, in particular as regards the knowledge in the practice of internal legal systems and public international law, as well as a high knowledge of one of the two official languages of the ECHR and at least sufficient passive knowledge of the other as means of ensuring the independence and impartiality of the same, the high quality, and the coherence of the judgments of this High Court. To this end, in the conclusions of the High Level Conferences held under the auspices of the successive rotating presidencies of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers at Interlaken, Esmirna and Brighton, the the need to increase the transparency of selection procedures in order to ensure the appropriate qualification of candidates.

Following up on these commitments, the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, by Resolution of 10 November 2010, set up the Advisory Panel of Experts on candidates for the election of judges to the ECHR with the purpose of assessing, prior to its elevation to the Parliamentary Assembly, compliance with the requirements laid down in the Convention by the candidates proposed by the Contracting States.

With this very purpose, the Committee of Ministers adopted on 29 March 2012 a "Master's line on the procedure for selecting candidates for the post of Judge-holder of the ECHR" in which, in addition to reproducing the Conventional requirements mentioned above, additional recommendations are made on the recommended minimum linguistic requirements of the candidates, the procedure for submission of applications, the selection procedure and the motivation of the final resolution.

And it is appropriate to point out, for these purposes, that the high qualification required of the candidates for judges holding the ECHR, requires a meticulous and thorough selection process. It is therefore particularly advisable for the three candidates to form the third party approved by the Council of Ministers to be in a position to fulfil in their entirety, before reaching the retirement age, the nine-year term for office. which would be appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

in view of the above, the Council of Ministers has considered it appropriate to provide guidelines for the purpose of drawing up the list of candidates for judges who are the holders of the ECHR, at the time when it is necessary. proceed to the same.

In accordance with the powers provided for in Article 97 of the Spanish Constitution and in the exercise of its discretion to propose candidates for the highest judicial functions The final proposal will correspond to the Council of Ministers by agreement for the purposes of its referral for consideration by the Advisory Panel to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, of Justice and of the Presidency and for the Territorial Administrations, the Council of Ministers, at its meeting of the day 20 January 2017

AGREEMENT

First.

When, in accordance with the provisions of the ECHR, it is necessary to propose to the Kingdom of Spain candidates for a judge holding the ECHR, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation shall communicate the need for such decisions to be taken the Ministries of Justice and the Presidency and the Territorial Administrations and the Executive Council of Foreign Policy, in order to draft the proposal of candidates in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Second.

As established by the ECHR, candidates must be persons who enjoy the highest moral consideration and fulfil the conditions required for the exercise of high judicial functions or be jurisconsults of recognition competence, not being able to exercise during its term of office any activity which is incompatible with the requirements of independence, impartiality or availability necessary for a full-time activity.

Third.

Advertising of the start of the selection process will be ensured by publication in the "Official State Gazette" as well as by those additional procedures that the Deputy Foreign and Foreign Affairs Secretaries Cooperation, Justice and the Presidency and for the Territorial Administrations decide, so that it will come to the knowledge of the candidates potentially fit and for a reasonable time. Applications may be submitted in any of the places provided for in Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015 of 1 October of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.

Fourth.

A committee is set up to assess the suitability of applications, which will be composed of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for Justice, the Assistant Secretary of Justice and the Assistant Secretary of State. of the Presidency and the Territorial Administrations.

The Chair of the Committee shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The decisions of the committee shall be taken, in any case, by agreement of all its members.

The faculties attributed to its members will not be delegated.

The Secretariat of the Committee shall correspond to a State Advocate appointed by the State Advocate General-Director of the State Legal Service, who shall attend the meetings with a voice but without a vote.

Fifth.

In order to carry out its tasks, the Committee will also be supported by a number of advisers who may represent, among others: the International Legal Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, General Council of the Judiciary, the State Prosecutor General, the Ombudsman and the Office of Language Interpretation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Sixth.

The committee will evaluate the curriculum vitae received and will conduct the interviews that it deems necessary for the purpose of verifying the suitability of the candidates for the post to be covered, which, in any case, will have to gather the Following requirements:

-Ostend Spanish nationality.

-Do not exceed the age of 61 years at the deadline for submission of applications.

-Credit a high knowledge of one of the two official languages of the Court (English and French) and at least sufficient passive knowledge of the other.

Seventh.

Examined the curriculum vitae and the possible interviews, the committee will draft a proposal of candidates for judges who are the holders of the ECHR, in which it will be sought as a general rule to integrate candidates of both The President of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Council

Ministers of the European Union

Eighth.

Once the term has been approved by the Council of Ministers, the Council of Europe's Advisory Panel of Experts on candidates for the election of judges to the ECHR will be transferred to the Council of Europe.