CEDH · PRESS;GENERAL;ENG — 8 février 2008

.s800EAC49 { font-size:12pt } .sFE10DC93 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center } .s29100277 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold } .s40F41F73 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:right } .s32563E28 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt } .sBB9EE52A { font-family:Arial } .s7ED160F0 { text-decoration:none } .s33165EBA { font-family:Arial; font-size:8pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s6B505E72 { margin:0pt; padding-left:0pt } .sD711EC90 { margin-left:31.52pt; padding-left:7.48pt; font-family:serif } .s4DDA3AA3 { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; font-style:italic } .s3DC36BA9 { font-family:Arial; text-decoration:underline; color:#0069d6 } .sCB9E0544 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:left } .sC7EAD8B { font-family:Arial; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:underline } .sA36B60A1 { font-family:Arial; font-style:italic } .sF6A12959 { width:33%; height:1px; text-align:left } .s4BAE41EE { font-family:Arial; font-size:11pt } .s2EB42ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt } .s2E932ED2 { margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:11pt } .s653E6C45 { font-family:Arial; font-size:6.67pt; vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 } .s4B8D41EE { font-family:Arial; font-size:10pt } EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS   95 8.2.2008   Press release issued by the Registrar   COURT’S FIRST ADVISORY OPINION TO BE DELIVERED   The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights will deliver its first advisory opinion at a public hearing at 10.30 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday 12 February 2008 in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg.   Under Article   47 [1] (advisory opinions) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Court will deliver its opinion on certain legal questions concerning the composition of the lists of candidates submitted for the election of judges to the Court.   The questions submitted for opinion by the Council of Europe’s executive arm, the Committee of Ministers, concern, in particular, whether a list of candidates for the post of judge at the Court which satisfies the requirements of Article 21 (criteria for office) [2] of the Convention can be refused solely on the basis of gender-related issues.   This is the second time that the Court has received a request from the Committee of Ministers for an advisory opinion. The first request concerned the co-existence of the Convention on Human Rights of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the European Convention on Human Rights. On 2 June 2004 the Court delivered its decision on that question, in which it concluded unanimously that the request did not come within its advisory competence.   The Court’s decision concerning the lists of candidate judges will be delivered immediately after the delivery of two Grand Chamber judgments (as already announced) in the cases of:   Kafkaris v. Cyprus (application no.   21906/04), at 9.30 a.m. (local time); and Guja v. Moldova (application no.   14277/04), at 10 a.m. (local time).   The press release and the texts of the judgments and decision will be available after the hearing on the Court’s Internet site ( http://www.echr.coe.int ).   *** Press contacts Emma Hellyer (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 42 15) Stéphanie Klein (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 21 54) Tracey Turner-Tretz (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 88 41 35 30) Paramy Chanthalangsy (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 54 91) Sania Ivedi (telephone: 00 33 (0)3 90 21 59 45)   The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.       [1] Under Article 47, the Court may, at the request of the Committee of Ministers, give advisory opinions on legal questions concerning the interpretation of the Convention and the protocols thereto. Such opinions shall not deal with any question relating to the content or scope of the rights and freedoms defined in Section 1 of the Convention and the protocols thereto, or with any other question which the Court or Committee of Ministers might have to consider in consequence of any such proceedings as could be instituted in accordance with the Convention.   [2] Under Article 21, Judges shall be of high moral character and must either possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or be jurisconsults of recognised competence.