LUXEMBOURG (CN) — All 27 member states don’t need to sign Europe’s first treaty to combat gender-based violence for the European Union to move forward with ratification, the bloc’s top court ruled Wednesday.
The European Court of Justice issued the opinion about the Istanbul Convention at the behest of the European Parliament, which wanted to know if the EU as a whole could ratify the treaty despite some member states refusing to do so.
All then-28 EU countries initially signed the treaty, set up by the Council of Europe, in 2011. The United Kingdom has since left the bloc.
The convention aims to combat gender-based violence by requiring states to criminalize sexual harassment, establish domestic violence shelters and ban forced abortion and sterilization, among other measures.
Under pressure from conservative moments, however, several countries, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe, are now refusing to ratify the treaty. Turkey itself – whose largest city is the treaty's namesake – also withdrew in July, claiming the treaty isn’t compatible with the country’s family values.
In 2016, the EU moved to sign and ratify the treaty on its own, setting off a series of complaints from countries that argue the political and economic union doesn’t have the authority to do so.
Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and others squared off against the EU during hearings at the Court of Justice last year.
“The European Union does not have the competencies to assent to the treaty,” the agent for Poland, Boguslaw Majczyna, told the Luxembourg-based court.
Under Article 218(11) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, EU bodies can request an opinion from the Court of Justice about agreements between the bloc and third countries or international organizations, including treaties. The court has previously issued opinions on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada and the European Convention on Human Rights. The decisions are binding and cannot be appealed.
The 15-judge panel found Wednesday that the EU can implement the Istanbul Convention without waiting for all 27 member states to ratify the treaty, but it is not required to move forward without them.
The Council of Europe, an international organization set up after World War II to protect human rights on the continent, and the EU have been at odds over how to proceed in light of the pushback by some member states.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, and the bloc’s parliament want to push forward with accession on the basis of two provisions protecting crime victims. Meanwhile, the council wants the EU to join based on a broader set of provisions, arguing that violence against women isn’t limited to criminal violations but also about the treatment of women more broadly.
A nonbinding opinion from a court magistrate earlier this year agreed that the EU could move forward without approval from all member states. In May, ministers from 16 European countries released a letter on the treaty’s 10th anniversary, calling for the remaining Council of Europe member states to sign and ratify the treaty.
“Preventing all forms of violence is not controversial. Protecting victims of abuse is not controversial. Most of all, it is not negotiable,” the group wrote.
Women across Europe have demonstrated in favor of the treaty. In March, women marched in Kyiv in support of Ukraine signing the convention, and last summer thousands turned out in Poland to protest the government’s decision to withdraw from the treaty. Turkey’s withdrawal in July also sparked large protests across the country, which had to be broken up by riot police.
Follow @mollyquell
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Jan. 6 sentences April 19, 2024 -
