APPENDIX 25
Memorandum submitted by Europe 2000
It seems appropriate for the purposes of your
inquiry that this submission should highlight the involvement
in May/June 2002 of the Press Complaints Commission with the Pan-Europe
NGO called Europe 2000.
Europe 2000 is an independent, non-political
and non-profit making organisation, registered in Belgium by Royal
Decree in 1989, which addresses a wide range of contemporary and
emerging law enforcement and civil society issues.
Europe 2000 facilitates and assists in the development
of policy initiatives which are designed to protect and preserve
a Europe of values based on the principles of democracy, individual
liberty and the Rule of Law. It has a network of professional
relationships at the highest levels within European Union Member
States and, increasingly, amongst Eastern Europe countries, specifically
Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. Europe 2000
has been granted consultative status with the Council of Europe
and in 1999 the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
granted it special consultative status.
Each year its members organise between two and
three international conferences at locations throughout Europe
and the subjects have included trans-border crime, the victimisation
of women and children, the role of general prosecutors, money
laundering and corruption, etc. Last year (2002) it successfully
held conferences on "The legal regulation of the private
security industry" (Bratislava, Slovakia) and a Ministerial
conference on "The new criminal threats (chemical, biological
and nuclear) to environmental safety" (Bucharest, Romania).
The Latvian members of Europe 2000 also successfully
organised a conference in late May 2002 on "Freedom of information
and the inviolability of private life" held at Riga. The
PCC for the purposes of this conference was approached by Christopher
Flint, a member of Europe 2000, who asked if the PCC could make
a contribution and if possible attend and present their paper.
Mr William Gore, the PCC International Officer, kindly agreed
to the request and prepared a most detailed and thoughtful paper
which introduced the case for self-regulation and its institutional
pre-conditions and the key principles for the success of self-regulation.
Unfortunately it was not possible for the PCC
representative to attend and, instead, the paper was read to an
interested and receptive audience. Questioners wished to know
much about the PCC, including the composition of the lay Commissioners
and the number of complaints not resolved by the PCC that are
adjudicated by the UK courts. Again, William Gore helped with
detailed responses that were passed back to the organisers for
the information of the delegates post-conference.
The speakers at the conference included a judge
of the European Human Rights Court, the Prosecutor-General of
the Republic of Latvia, the chairman of the Latvia Constitutional
Court, a TV and radio journalist, an associate professor of journalism,
and others. It was well attended. The PCC contribution was significant
and provided the framework which will help the Latvian courts,
press and media, journalists, lawyers and others to make the transition
from a State controlled press to a free and self-regulated one.
Europe 2000 was extremely grateful for the input by the PCC and
for the enthusiasm and interest shown by William Gore. A copy
of his paper is available.
I trust this submission is of interest. I have
no particular connection with the PCC but was sufficiently inspired
by the PCC and its involvement in the Riga conference to contact
you.
February 2003
| 
