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State of the Rule of Law in Europe – 2021

Reports from National Human Rights Institutions

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are key players in the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, as state-mandated bodies acting independently of government with a broad human rights mandate. This report brings together reporting from NHRIs in Europe on the rule of law situation in their country, collected in February and March 2021. It identifies key trends across the region and details the specific situation in each country, including in the context of governments’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Executive summary

This Executive Summary explains the contribution of NHRIs and ENNHRI towards advancing the rule of law in Europe, the purpose of this report, the key findings of the report, and the next steps planned beyond this report’s publication.

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Introduction: report’s relevance and impact

This section introduces the report, including an overview of ENNHRI and NHRIs’ work on the rule of law and the relevance of a united approach to rule of law reporting, as well as the report’s scope, methodology and next steps.

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Overview of trends and challenges

Outline of key trends identified in the reporting, including issues related to: the independence and effectiveness of the NHRI; human rights defenders and civil society space; checks and balances; justice systems; media pluralism; corruption; and COVID-19.

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Country reports

Use this table to navigate through the report, click on the icon to read the section.

2020
2021
Albania
Andorra No NHRI
Armenia
Austria            
Azerbaijan
Belarus No NHRI
Belgium - Combat Poverty    
Belgium - Unia    
Bosnia and Herzegovina  
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus  
Czech Republic    
Denmark    
Estonia  
Finland1  
France2  
Georgia  
Germany  
Great Britain      
Greece
Hungary
Iceland No NHRI
Ireland  
Italy No NHRI
Kosovo3
Latvia        
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg  
Malta No NHRI
Moldova
Monaco No NHRI
Montenegro  
Netherlands    
North Macedonia  
Northern Ireland  
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation  
San Marino No NHRI
Scotland    
Serbia  
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain  
Sweden4 No submission
Switzerland No NHRI
Turkey    
Ukraine  
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Last updated in June 2021

1 The Parliamentary Ombudsman is consulted directly by the European Commission for its report and therefore the contribution to ENNHRI’s report by the HRC does not include the Parliamentary Ombudsman, and no information on corruption.

2  The country report on France was compiled on the basis of selected CNCDH’s published reports and positions and statements by civil society organisations.

3 This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

4 In view of the ongoing process to establish an institution in compliance with the UN Paris Principles, the Swedish Equality Ombudsman (B-status NHRI) abstained from contributing to this reporting process.

State of the Rule of Law in Europe

Executive summary

  • Executive summary

Country reports

  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Belarus
  • Belgium - Combat Poverty Service
  • Belgium UNIA
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Great Britain
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • Kosovo*
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Moldova
  • Monaco
  • Montenegro
  • Netherlands
  • North Macedonia
  • Northern Ireland
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russian Federation
  • San Marino
  • Scotland
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine

Introduction

  • Introduction

Overview of trends and challenges

  • Overview of trends and challenges

Next steps

  • Further strengthening rule of law and human rights frameworks in Europe

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