Norwegian diplomat elected Chair of Council of Europe committee

Norwegian diplomat Rolf Einar Fife was elected Chair of the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) today. Mr Fife is a lawyer and head of the Legal Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

“One of the most important aims of Norwegian foreign policy is to strengthen the  international legal order. This applies, for example, to the Law of the Sea, where Norway has key interests, and not least to the development of increasingly binding international cooperation for the promotion of human dignity. The efforts to establish  international rules that are binding on big and small countries alike are also vital to Norway,” said Foreign Minister Støre.  

“I was therefore very pleased to hear that Rolf Einar Fife was elected today as Chair of the Council of Europe Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law. This is an important position, and Mr Fife’s election is a recognition of his expertise and experience and of the leading role played by Norway in developing competence in the field of international law,” said Mr Støre. 

Rolf Einar Fife is 46 and has headed the Legal Affairs Department since 2002. He was elected at a meeting of the CAHDI in London, where the focus was on the activities of the various international courts. This is the first time a Norwegian has been elected to this post. 

The Council of Europe has 47 Member States and its focus is on promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The CAHDI brings together the heads of the legal affairs departments of the foreign ministries of member States of the Council of Europe. A number of legal advisers from other countries and international organisations also participate in the meetings as observers. The CAHDI works to coordinate the member States’ activities in the field of international law with a view to strengthening the international legal order.