On 5 May 1949, in London, ten European states sign the Statute of the Council of Europe — the Treaty of London — creating the Council of Europe.

Original signatories: Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Purpose: “the pursuit of peace based upon justice and international co-operation”, with key principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

The Statute defines the mandates of the two statutory bodies: the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly. The treaty was registered with the UN on 11 April 1951 (I:1168).

Today 46 states are parties. Belarus and the Holy See are not members; Russia was expelled on 16 March 2022 after aggression against Ukraine — the only expulsion in the Organisation’s history.

The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) and the Strasbourg Court were built on this Statute. The official text is CETS No. 1 on the Council of Europe site.

For Romania, accession in 1993 tied Bucharest to this framework; 5 May is celebrated as the Council of Europe’s Europe Day.

The Statute of the Council of Europe of 5 May 1949 remains the founding act of postwar Europe’s human-rights order.

Image: London / Strasbourg; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Statute of the Council of Europe. Treaty text: Statute of the Council of Europe (CETS 001).