The European Consultative Assembly, which is meeting here now, this week-end approved unanimously a proposal to set up a European supreme court to enforce a bill of human rights in each state subscribing to the document. The court, consisting of one judge from each state in the Assembly, would be aided by a commission which would sift complaints from individuals or from private groups.
The Assembly also approved a draft of a human rights convention, which was redrafted by the Committee of Ministers, upper house of the European Council. The fundamental freedoms laid down in the document are:
1. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude. 2. No one shall be required to perform compulsory labor. 3. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. 4. Everyone with a criminal charge against him is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law. 5. No one shall be hold guilty of any criminal offense that was not illegal when it was committed.
Also, 6. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and correspondence. 7. Parents have the right to ensure the education of their children “in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.” 8. States should respect political liberty and hold “free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
