Johanna Westeson - The ICHRP

jurisprudence, and case law stemming from the above-mentioned countries, based on the
judgment of the author as to which are the most representatives examples that can be
considered good practices from the region, taking into account the limitations and
challenges that the research has presented (see further: Methodology).
While this document explores selected examples from domestic legislation and case law,
particular emphasis has been given to norms and jurisprudence from the two most
important regional systems present in Europe: the Council of Europe and the European
Union. The structure, legal status, sources of law, and relevance for human rights of these
two systems will be elaborated below.
2. Regional systems and sources of law
Each chapter of this report will focus first on sources of law and case law from the two
regional systems, and second on domestic jurisdiction of individual countries of the region.
The rationale for this structural choice is the following.
First, sources of law (both hard and soft law) from the Council of Europe and the European
Union (EU) have a significant impact on the development of domestic legislation and case
law. In some cases this has to do with the binding nature of the jurisprudence and the
supra-national sources of law. In other cases it is due to the fact that decisions taken by
supra-national institutions, even if not legally binding on member states, either express a
political commitment of the member states themselves or call for region-wide legal and
policy change.
Second, organs from both the Council of Europe and the EU have articulated themselves
extensively in almost all fields considered by this report. The norms and jurisprudence of
these organs therefore have significant relevance for sexual health and human rights. Their
body of decisions, norms, and non-mandatory material constitutes a vast resource for the
topics under consideration that may serve as useful inspiration to policy makers both
within and beyond the region.
2.1. Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is comprised of forty-seven countries. 7 These include all the
countries that are located within the geographical boundaries of Europe and Turkey,
excluding only Belarus, Kosovo, and the State of the Vatican City (and/or the Holy See). 8
Thus, the Council of Europe has jurisdiction over the vast majority of countries that for the
purpose of this report are included in the European region. The Council of Europe was
established in 1949 by the Treaty of London (also known as the Statute of the Council of
Europe) and constitutes the first and oldest pan-European organization, with its
7 Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco,
Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.
8 Belarus and the State of Vatican City/Holy See are excluded by the Council of Europe because they do not
meet the democratic parameters required to obtain membership. Kosovo has not been admitted as of yet, due
to the fact that its status under international law is disputed by some members of the organization. While the
State of Vatican City/Holy See and Kosovo never joined the organization, Belarus was suspended in 1996.
8