 States party to the Charter | |
| Signed | 15 October 1985 |
|---|---|
| Location | Strasbourg |
| Effective | 1 September 1988 |
| Parties | 46 (all Council of Europe member states) |
| Depositary | Secretary General of the Council of Europe |
| Languages | English and French |
| Full text | |
 European Charter of Local Self-Government at Wikisource | |
The European Charter of Local Self-Government was adopted under the auspices of the Congress of the Council of Europe and was opened for signature by the Council of Europe's member states on 15 October 1985. All Council of Europe member states are parties to the Charter. New member states of the Council of Europe are expected to ratify the Charter at the earliest opportunity.
The Charter commits the ratifying member states to guaranteeing the political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities. It provides that the principle of local self-government shall be recognised in domestic legislation and, where practicable, in the constitution. Local authorities are to be elected by universal suffrage, and it is the earliest legal instrument to set out the principle of subsidiarity.