If you are interested in reading about the Council of Europe, its various bodies, treaties, instruments and monitoring mechanisms, you might want to check Literature on the Council of Europe.
If you are looking for further reading with regard to human rights, democracy, the rule of law, international relations, public international law, diplomacy, etc., you might find something suitable in Academic Literature & Links.
Literature in German and French can be found in Literatur & Links.
Purpose: Promoting Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Entity: Intergovernmental Organisation
Founding year: 1949
Member states: 46
Based in: Strassburg/France
Working languages: EN, FR
Secretary General: Alain Berset
Decision-making body: Committee of Ministers (=Foreign ministers of the member states)
Consultative bodies: Parliamentary Assembly; Congress of Local and Regional Authorities; Conference of INGOs; Commissioner for Human Rights
Main legal instrument: European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)
Legal basis: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) plus more than 200 Conventions, Additional Protocols and Partial Agreements
Ordinary annual budget: € 385mio
(of which Court: € 85 mio)
