On Monday March 2, the Belgian Minister of Justice was interviewed in the Council of Europe about the high-level conference entitled “Implementation of the European Convention, our shared responsibility” planned on 26 and 27 March 2015. This interview explains the importance and the purposes of this high–level meeting.

Belgium and some eminent Belgian personalities have played a prime role in the development of European law and the European Court of Human Rights. The Belgian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe will endeavour to ensure the effectiveness of the European Convention on Human Rights system, the cornerstone of which is the right of individual petition.

Following on from the conferences held in Interlaken (2010), Izmir (2011) and Brighton (2012), the Belgian Chairmanship will organise in Brussels on 26 and 27 March 2015 a high-level conference entitled “Implementation of the European Convention, our shared responsibility”. The purpose of that conference is to adopt a political declaration capable of giving fresh impetus to the reform process begun in 2010, while emphasising both the shared responsibility for implementation of the Convention and the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. Indeed, while the Court is no longer a “victim of its own success”, many challenges remain. Three years after the Brighton Conference, this is an appropriate time to take stock of the present situation and to reiterate the common political commitment to an effective and viable Convention system.

On Monday March 2, Koen Geens, the Belgian Minister of Justice, was interviewed in the Council of Europe about the conference on 26 and 27 March. In this interview, he explains the importance and the aim of the high–level meeting.

How can we strengthen the dialogue between the European Court for Human Rights and the jurisdictions of the member states? How can we ensure the Court's decisions are executed more swiftly on a national level? Why do we continue to hone the role of the Court and the Convention it's based on?

Watch the interview here.