Council of Europe AI Treaty

Following Third Plenary Session, Committee on AI releases List of Decisions and Zero Draft.

The Committee noted that the Zero Draft is "a document prepared by the Chair and the Secretariat and does not reflect the final outcome of negotiations in the Committee."

REVISED ZERO DRAFT [FRAMEWORK] CONVENTION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

European Council - New EU priorities for a reinforced strategic partnership with the Council of Europe (CoE) on human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Jan. 30, 2023)

"Today, the Council of the European Union, the institution gathering the ministers of EU Member States, adopted the new priorities that will guide the cooperation between the EU and the CoE in the next two years. . . . Acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights will remain the EU core policy objective at the CoE. . . . Our cooperation agenda for the next two years also recognises the emergence of new topics in relation with human rights, such as advanced digital technologies, artificial intelligence, climate change and environmental protection. . . . the EU and the CoE stand united and determined to further build on each other’s strengths and competences to uphold and promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe and beyond." [MORE]

CAIDP Statement Regarding the Decision to Exclude Civil Society Organizations from the Drafting Group of the Council of Europe Committee on AI (Jan. 17, 2023)

"We are concerned about the recent decision to exclude civil society organizations, including CAIDP, from the drafting group for the COE AI Treaty. We have spent more than two years contributing actively and constructively to the work of the Council of Europe on Artificial Intelligence. We remain committed to the mandate of the Council of Europe Committee on AI. We will continue to express our views on the draft text. And we look forward to the adoption of a global treaty for AI that protects fundamental rights, democratic values, and the rule of law.” 

- Center for AI and Digital Policy

- AlgorithmWatch

- Global Partners Digital

- Fair Trials

In a letter addressed to Secretariat of the Committee on AI of the Council of Europe, civil society organizations have asked to observe the upcoming sessions of the Drafting Committee for the Council of Europe Convention on AI. At the most recent plenary session in Strasbourg, civil society organizations were denied the opportunity to actively participate in the drafting committee. Excerpts from the civil society letter:

• The [earlier decision] decision goes against the examples of good practice from the Council of Europe, the prior practice of the drafting of Convention 108+, and the CoE’s own standards on civil participation in political decision-making.
• Democratic governance requires fully open, inclusive, and transparent processes to ensure trust and accountability. 

We have created this informational page to provide access to the documents concerning the development of Council of Europe Treaty on AI, the relevant work of CAIDP and others, and to chart the important milestones as the proposal moves forward. 

In December 2021, the Council of Europe’s Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI) published “Possible elements of a legal framework on artificial intelligence based on the Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.” The Possible Elements Report established the need for an international, legally binding treaty focused on AI. The Report laid the groundwork for the successive Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI). The CAI will build on the CAHAI’s recommendations and  elaborate an “appropriate legal instrument”, likely to lead to a transversal legally binding document by 2023.

The Second Plenary Meeting of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) took place in Strasbourg, France and online on 21-23 September 2022.

During the meeting, the Committee examined a first draft of a convention on artificial intelligence, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The focus was on developing common principles ensuring the continued seamless application and respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law in a context where AI systems assist or replace human decision-making.

• Agenda
• List of Participants
• List of decisions
• Press release

The First Plenary Meeting of the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) took place in Rome, Italy and online on 4 – 6 April 2022.

• Agenda
• List of participants
• List of decisions
• Gregor Strojein - Presentation  

1438th meeting, Council of Ministers Deputies (30 June 2022)

Decision

The Deputies instructed the Committee on Artificial Intelligence to proceed speedily with the elaboration of a legally binding instrument of a transversal nature (“convention”/“framework convention”) on artificial intelligence based on the Council of Europe’s standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law, in line with its terms of reference, focused on general common principles, conducive to innovation, and open to participation by non-member States, while taking into account other relevant existing international legal frameworks or those under development.

10.4 Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI)

Decision concerning the work of the CAI at the 132nd Session of the Committee of Ministers – Follow-up

132nd Session of the Committee of Ministers (20 May 2022)

Turin, Italy

The Council is now faced with one of the most crucial issues in today's society, namely the risks posed to human rights, democracy and the rule of law by the development and use of the artificial intelligence (AI).  AI is an opportunity and a challenge for our societies. Building on the work carried out by the Ad Hoc Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAHAI), we will hopefully decide in May the tangible actions that the Council of Europe will undertake to help build a future in which the enormous potential of artificial intelligence will be at the service of human needs. [Document]