The Council of Europe drafted and opened the world’s first binding global treaty on AI, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law on Sep. 5, 2024. The treaty, called the Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, was signed by the United States, along with the UK, the USA, Israel, Norway, Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, the Republic of Moldova and San Marino.

The treaty applies primarily to public authorities, and to private actors acting on behalf of public authorities (Article 3(1)A&B), with discretion granted to signatories on how to address private actors. It lays out a risk-based approach to AI, and applies to the full lifecycle of an AI system. The treaty provides exclusions for matters related to national defense (Article 3(4)), which has been criticized by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions. 

Nevertheless, the treaty stipulates that remedial procedures should be created for “violations of human rights resulting from the activities within the lifecycle of artificial intelligence systems” (Article 14). Similar to the EU AI Act, the treaty states that to the extent possible, users should be notified if they are interacting with AI systems (Article 15).

The treaty follows the ratification of the EU AI Act, which came into force on August 1, 2024 – though it plays a different role, setting a global standard for AI regulation rather than legislation itself. It will come into force after 5 states, including 3 Council of Europe states, have ratified the treaty. In the case of the US and the UK, this would require putting the treaty to their respective legislative bodies and deciding by vote – which does limit the effectiveness of the framework outlined. 

However, the treaty does provide an important legal framework with which to redress violations of human rights brought on by AI. The European Court of Human Rights, in particular, may recognize the treaty and incorporate it into practice, as it has a history of interpretation with other international European treaties.