With the Council of Europe Member States having begun their Ministerial Conference in Chișinău (which will take place on 14-15 May 2026, with a press conference scheduled for 13h CET on 15 May), and with the adoption of the Chișinău Declaration on migration imminent, several academic events have been planned to reflect on the Declaration, and its meaning for the ECHR system. These include:
- On 18 May, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) will host a webinar on “The Chişinău Political Declaration on the ECHR”. Chaired by Sir Tim Eicke KC, former judge at the ECtHR, the event will feature speakers Prof. Alice Donald, Dr. Alice Edwards, Daniel Holder, Raza Husein KC, and Prof. Katja Ziegler. Event details are available here.
- On 20 May, an event entitled “The Future of the ECHR – Preliminary reflections on the Chişinău Declaration” will take place at Dublin European Law Institute, in collaboration with the AGORA group. The ECtHR’s former president Robert Spano and Prof. Veronika Fikfak will enter into conversation with Dr. Andrew Forde to offer a first reaction and preliminary reflections on the relevance of the Declaration as well as its possible impacts in member states and on the Convention System more broadly. The central concern: does the Declaration enhance the integrity, resilience and prosperity of the European Convention on Human Rights system? Event details are available here.
- On 21 May, an event entitled “ECHR Reform is Here!: Reflections on the Chişinǎu Declaration and UK’s role in the process” will take place at the UCL Faculty of Laws. Chaired by Prof. George Letsas, guests Rob Linham OBE, Prof. Mikael Rask Madsen, Prof. Natasa Mavronicola and Prof. Veronika Fikfak will discuss the Council of Europe’s new migration declaration, its implications for ECHR migration case law, and perspectives from those involved in its negotiation and critique. The registration link is available here.
In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates on this blog – and visit our resource page for information on the build-up to this moment.
