# Council of Europe

- **Record type**: Jurisdiction profile
- **Short name**: CoE
- **Type**: supranational
- **Region**: Europe / Continental

## In brief

The Council of Europe has 2 recorded AI policy instruments, 1 of them binding. Framework Convention adopted and open for signature; entry into force depends on ratifications; HUDERIA methodology adopted. Regulators include Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI).

## Overview

The Council of Europe adopted the first legally binding international treaty on AI, the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225), on 17 May 2024; it opened for signature in Vilnius on 5 September 2024 and has been signed by the EU, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Japan, Israel and others. It requires parties to adopt measures so that AI activities are consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, using a risk- and impact-based approach, and is supplemented by the HUDERIA risk and impact assessment methodology (2024).

## Regulatory status

Framework Convention adopted and open for signature; entry into force depends on ratifications; HUDERIA methodology adopted.

## What is binding and what is guidance

Binding: Framework Convention on AI (CETS 225). Strategy or guidance: HUDERIA risk and impact assessment methodology.

## Regulators

- Council of Europe Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI) — Negotiated the Convention and follow-up instruments — https://www.coe.int/en/web/artificial-intelligence/cai

## How to use this profile

- Use the Convention to anticipate obligations that signatory states will implement through national law; it binds states, not companies directly.
- Open the treaty office page to check current signatures and ratifications before citing entry into force.
- Use HUDERIA as a reference methodology for human-rights impact assessment of AI systems.

## Official sources

- Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225) — Council of Europe — https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=225
- The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence — Council of Europe — https://www.coe.int/en/web/artificial-intelligence/the-framework-convention-on-artificial-intelligence

## Instruments recorded for this jurisdiction (2)

- **Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225)** — Act / statute, Adopted, binding
  - Record: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/council-of-europe-framework-convention-on-ai
  - Context file: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/council-of-europe-framework-convention-on-ai.md
- **Methodology for the Risk and Impact Assessment of Artificial Intelligence Systems from the Point of View of Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (HUDERIA)** — Framework, Guidance, non-binding
  - Record: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/council-of-europe-huderia-methodology
  - Context file: https://aipolicytracker.org/policies/council-of-europe-huderia-methodology.md

## Provenance

- **Record page**: https://aipolicytracker.org/jurisdictions/council-of-europe
- **Official source**: https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list?module=treaty-detail&treatynum=225
- **Source document**: Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225)
- **Published by**: Council of Europe
- **Review status**: verified
- **Confidence**: medium
- **Facts last confirmed**: 2026-09-26
- **Confirmed by**: Bhaskar Bhatt (see https://aipolicytracker.org/reviewers)
- **Retrieved**: 2026-10-27
- **Licence**: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

> This record is a structured summary with a link to the official text. It is not legal advice. Open the official source before relying on any date or duty. How current each record type must be is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/verification; what a record must carry at all is published at https://aipolicytracker.org/coverage.