Multilateral cooperation The second important process that has shaped the work of the Council of Europe in recent years and will continue to do so is the reform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. In light of the chronic overload of the court with a very large number of pending individual complaints, these reform efforts aim to preserve the effectiveness of the protective mechanism of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the short and long term. In February 2010, the Interlaken Process on reform of the ECtHR was initiated by the Swiss chairmanship at the time of the Council of Ministers in the context of a highlevel conference. A first assessment took place in April 2011 at a follow-up conference Liechtenstein advocates in Izmir (Turkey). Liechtenstein has long participated actively both at the political and the expert level in the work on reform of the Strasbourg court. The highlight of this a strong and efficient Court of Human Rights. work so far has been a further follow-up conference, which took place in April 2012 in Brighton, England. On the basis of the declaration adopted there and the related resolutions of the ministerial session in May 2012, implementation of a package of reform measures is currently in preparation. It should therefore be expected that reform of the ECtHR will continue to be an important part of the Council of Europe’s agenda in the coming years. The focus of Liechtenstein’s involvement in ECtHR reform continues to be on national implementation of the ECHR in the states parties as well as on safeguarding the right of individual complaint and the independence of the ECtHR. In connection with ECtHR reform, Liechtenstein has been able to raise its profile and successfully make active contributions. It is especially gratifying that Liechtenstein’s proposal to conduct an audit of the court has meanwhile been realised. Liechtenstein’s involvement in this regard will be continued in the coming years. Liechtenstein’s basis for its active and credible involvement in this regard is the fact that so far, only a small number of (largely inadmissible) complaints against Liechtenstein have been brought before the ECtHR. So far, there has been a total of five judgements by the court against Liechtenstein. This is an indication of Liechtenstein’s smoothly functioning protection of basic rights at the national level. In connection with the ECtHR, the planned accession of the EU to the ECHR is also of note. The negotiations on this topic were continued in the second half of 2012. Liechtenstein will continue to participate in the work in this regard. Liechtenstein’s regular participation and contribution in the weekly meetings of the Committee of Ministers, the supreme decision-making body of the Council of Europe, as well as the annual ministerial sessions at the level of foreign ministers are the main political focus of Liechtenstein’s membership in the Council of Europe. The agenda of the Committee of Ministers is characterised by a very broad thematic scope. Apart from current questions concerning human rights, democracy, and the rule of law that are relevant to all of Europe or individual member states, the agenda also includes issues such as cooperating with the neighbouring states of the Council of Europe (especially within the framework of the new neighbourhood policy) and other inter­ national organisations (especially the EU, OSCE, and UN), the fight against various forms of international crime, and the promotion of exchanges among members states in areas such as education, culture, and sport. Liechtenstein regularly contributes to the Committee of Ministers especially in its foreign policy priorities of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. | 43