Council of Europe. AI / automated decisions. Treaty (CETS No. 225)
CoE AI ConventionCouncil of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Partly verified
Medium confidence.The ratification count was not available from the treaty office page. A Sept 2026 secondary source says it is not yet in force. The text_url document ID was not re-checked.
§1Summary
- Synopsis
The first binding international treaty on AI. Parties must make sure activities across the AI lifecycle are consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, including through transparency, accountability, non-discrimination, privacy and personal data protection, risk and impact management, and remedies. It applies mainly to public authorities; for the private sector, each party chooses how to address risks.
- Key themes
- Unique features
It is open to non-European signatories, including the US, UK, Canada and Japan. It is principle-based and leaves parties to choose implementation measures, unlike the prescriptive EU AI Act.
- SaaS relevance
It has no direct obligations yet; for EU-market SaaS it will be implemented mainly through the AI Act.
§2Obligations
- Breach notification
- None
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- None
- Maximum penalty
- Set by national law
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- Adopted 2024-05-17; opened in Vilnius on 2024-09-05. Enters into force on the first day of the month after 3 months from the 5th ratification (at least 3 of them CoE member states). The EU ratified on 2026-05-15. The threshold had not been reached as of Sept 2026.
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text rm.coe.int
- Authority
- Conference of the Parties (once in force)
§5Where it applies
- Members of the body
Membership-based — check ratification status. Membership of Council of Europe does not mean a state has signed or ratified this instrument.
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
§6Sources and verification
- Sources consulted
- Verification
Medium confidence.
Partly verified
Medium confidence.The ratification count was not available from the treaty office page. A Sept 2026 secondary source says it is not yet in force. The text_url document ID was not re-checked.