The 10th Round Table of European Ombudsman

The Greek Ombudsman, in collaboration with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr. Thomas Hammarberg, organized the 10th Round Table of European Ombudsman in Athens at the Zappeion Megaron on Thursday and Friday, 12 and 13 April 2007. For the first time, all the Ombudsmen from the member states of the Council of Europe were in Greece together with the heads of National Commissions for Human Rights, a total of approximately fifty representatives.

The sessions of the Round Table were inaugurated by the President of the Greek Republic, H.E. Dr. Karolos Papoulias on Thursday April 12 and closed by the Minister for Internal Affairs, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, on Friday April 13.

The topic of the Round Table is of major importance for its impact on the European institutional structure as it relates to the new role of the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and the national Ombudsmen in the provisional procedure before the European Court for Human Rights of Strasbourg after validation of the 14th Additional Protocol to the European Agreement for Human Rights. In accordance with the new amendments, the national Ombudsmen will undertake to provide information and evaluations with regard to the applicability of an individual’s recourse to the European Courts as well as, correspondingly, to expressing their opinion with regard to queries concerning violations of human rights to the European Court for Human Rights itself.