Lawyer, Minister of State in several cabinets from 1974 to 1976, Member of Parliament until 1982, delegate of the Council of Europe, he became known as a fierce opponent of the death penalty. Finally, Carl Lidbom was ambassador in Paris from 1982 to 1992, under the presidency of François Mitterrand.

In Sweden, King Oscar I (1799-1859) published a book in which he wrote that "Any punishment that exceeds the limits of necessity will fall into the realm of arbitrariness and vengeance. He and his successors used the right of pardon to such an extent that capital punishment was not abolished in the 1864 penal code, since it was considered an obsolete punishment. On June 17, 1921 the de facto abolition was followed by abolition in law.

At the Council of Europe, on the basis of the conclusions of the Ancel Report, the Conference of European Ministers of Justice periodically examines the problem of the death penalty, especially as abolitionist states have joined the institution: Spain (abolition in 1978), Portugal (abolition in 1867) and Liechtenstein (which abolished the death penalty in 1989, but had not executed anyone since 1785). In 1978, the Legal Affairs Committee appointed a new rapporteur, the Swedish Carl Gunnar Lidbom. In the Forum Review published by the Council of Europe, he expressed reservations about the role of the institution, believing that it was losing momentum: "Take the abolition of the death penalty, which is now the subject of heated debate in various countries, notably France. The Council of Europe should be at the forefront of any fight for human values, but it is virtually absent from this debate. The European Convention on Human Rights itself remains more lax on this point than the UN conventions¹.” He insists that the death penalty in peacetime is "incompatible with new trends in criminology and criminal law" and contrary to Article 3 of the ECHR. n his view, Article 2 should be amended. The Parliamentary Assembly took up the issue several times in 1979 in preparation for legislation on the abolition of the death penalty for crimes committed in peacetime. Carl Lidbom was appointed rapporteur. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a categorical resolution even though the Conference of European Ministers of Justice had not taken a clear position in favour of abolition. On Lidbom's report, the Assembly adopted two texts at its 32nd Session on 22 April 1980. Resolution 727 (adopted by 79.67% of the voters) on the abolition of the death penalty:

"The Assembly, Considering that the death penalty is inhumane, Appeals to the parliaments of those Council of Europe member states which retain the death penalty for crimes committed in time of peace to abolish it from their penal systems.”

This resolution is complemented by Recommendation 891 addressed to member states: "Referring to Resolution 727 (1980) on the abolition of the death penalty; Considering that the European Convention on Human Rights recognises, in its Article 2, the right of every person to life, but provides that death may be inflicted intentionally in execution of a sentence of death pronounced by a court in cases where the crime is punishable by law by such a penalty; Recommends that the Committee of Ministers amend Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights along the lines of Assembly Resolution 727 (1980).”

The preparatory work was long and tedious, but Protocol No. 6 to the Convention was finally signed on 28 April 1983. "Freedom and human rights are not fixed concepts. It is not enough to safeguard acquired rights. The Council of Europe must be the dynamic element in the struggle for democracy in all our European societies²".

Marie Bardiaux-Vaïente

[1] Carl Lidbom, "Council of Europe: a difficult future", Forum, Council of Europe, fourth quarter, 1978, Strasburg, p. 16. Forum, Conseil de l’Europe, quatrième trimestre, 1978, Strasbourg, p. 16.
[2] Carl Lidbom, "Council of Europe: a difficult future", Forum, Council of Europe, fourth quarter, 1978, Strasburg, p. 16. Forum, Conseil de l’Europe, quatrième trimestre, 1978, Strasbourg, p. 16.