Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 4 November 2009.
Paul Goggins
Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
11:30,
4 November 2009
I believe that that money is spent in an effective and efficient manner, and, indeed, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has paid great tribute to the HET for being both effective and independent. Many hundreds of cases that have been opened and dealt with by the HET have been resolved, so I do not accept the hon. Gentleman's assertion that it is inefficient in any way; it is doing a very important job very well.
An international organisation of member states (45 at the time of writing) in the European region; not to be confused with the Council of the European Union, nor the European Council.
Founded on 5 May, 1949 by the Treaty of London, and currently seated in Strasbourg, membership is open to all European states which accept the princple of the rule of law and guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms to their citizens. In 1950, this body created the European Convention on Human Rights, which laid out the foundation principles and basis on which the European Court of Human Rights stands.
Today, its primary activities include charters on a range of human rights, legal affairs, social cohesion policies, and focused working groups and charters on violence, democracy, and a range of other areas.
