On 6 October the Court of Justice of the EU delivered its much anticipated Opinion on the accession of the EU to the Istanbul Convention. The Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention aims at preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence. It has been in force since 2014 and 21 EU Member States have ratified it whereas the EU has yet to accede to it. The request for an Opinion submitted by the European Parliament gave the Court of Justice the opportunity to offer guidance on questions of competences and appropriate legal bases as well as the procedure for the adoption of the decision to accede to the Istanbul Convention. Will this Opinion give impetus to the EU efforts to accede to the Istanbul Convention? The panel members are invited to reflect on each other’s presentations, after which the floor will be opened to the audience.
This and many more questions will be discussed on Wednesday 24 November from 2 pm onwards at a seminar on this most interesting Opinion at the Brussels School of Governance.
If you'd like to attend in-person, please register here.
If you'd like to attend online, please register here.
Speakers:
- Pieter van Cleynenbreugel, Professor of EU substantive law at the Faculté de Droit, de Science Politique et de Criminologie, University of Liège
- Anders Neergaard, Head of External Relations Unit, Legal Service, European Parliament
- Jean Francois Brakeland, representative of the European Commission
- Allan Rosas, former judge of the Court of Justice
Moderator:
- Kristin Henrard, Professor of international law at the Brussels School of Governance and co-director of VUB’s Fundamental Rights Centre
