COUNCIL OF EUROPE

ENGLISH
STYLE GUIDE

PREMS 030821
ENG

Better English and style,

2021
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading
human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member
states, 28 of which are members of the European
in print and online
Union. All Council of Europe member states have
www.coe.int signed up to the European Convention on Human
Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights,
democracy and the rule of law. The European Court
of Human Rights oversees the implementation
of the Convention in the member states.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
ENGLISH
STYLE GUIDE
2021

Editorial Unit
Documents and Publications
Production Department
(SPDP)
Council of Europe
French edition:
Typomémo – Mémento typographique français 2021

The Council of Europe English style guide and the Typomémo – Mémento typographique français
are available in electronic form (PDF) on the DGA intranet pages:
– on the DGS portal, in the “Useful links” rubric;
– on the Publications production page, in the “Resources” rubric.
They are also available in the Administrative Handbook.
A paper version can be printed using the in-house SCRIB printing system. For complete in-
structions, please consult the guide “How to print the English style guide using SCRIB”, available
in the Administrative Handbook.

Design and layout: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP), Council of
Europe
Cover photos: © Shutterstock
© Council of Europe, March 2021
Contents
Alphabetical listing quick access links:
A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H – I – J – K – L – M – N – O – P – Q – R – S – T – U – V – W – X
– Y – Z

Foreword ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
FAQs – Frequently asked questions ................................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Sources and reference works ................................................................................................. 7
1.1. Main reference works ...................................................................................................................................... 7
1.2. Secondary sources ............................................................................................................................................ 7
1.3. Other publications ............................................................................................................................................ 7
1.4. Complementary online sources ................................................................................................................... 8
2. Abbreviations........................................................................................................................... 8
2.1. Initials .................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Acronyms and initialisms................................................................................................................................ 9
2.3. Official texts......................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.4. Mr, Dr, Ltd, eds, etc........................................................................................................................................... 9
2.5. Measurements .................................................................................................................................................... 9
2.6. op. cit., ibid., cf., p., pp., etc. ........................................................................................................................... 9
3. Bibliographies ........................................................................................................................ 10
3.1. What is a bibliography and why do I need one? ................................................................................ 10
3.2. How to reference works using the author–date (Harvard) system .............................................. 10
3.3. Author–date references in the text .......................................................................................................... 10
3.4. How to compile a complete bibliography ............................................................................................ 10
3.5. “Bibliography” and/or “References” ........................................................................................................ 11
3.6. Strongly worded advice on bibliographies ........................................................................................... 11
3.7. Niceties of presenting bibliographies..................................................................................................... 11
4. Capitalisation ......................................................................................................................... 13
4.1. Council of Europe style ................................................................................................................................ 14
4.2. State: initial capital or lower case? A matter of context ................................................................... 14
4.3. Capitalisation in bibliographies ................................................................................................................ 14
5. Footnotes and endnotes ....................................................................................................... 14
5.1. Footnotes vs. endnotes ................................................................................................................................ 15
5.2. Style and formatting ..................................................................................................................................... 15
6. Lists ......................................................................................................................................... 15
7. Numbers, figures, numerals ................................................................................................. 15
7.1. House style ....................................................................................................................................................... 15
7.2. Special cases and exceptions ..................................................................................................................... 16
8. Punctuation ............................................................................................................................ 16
8.1. Quotation marks............................................................................................................................................. 16
8.2. Square brackets .............................................................................................................................................. 17
8.3. Ellipses ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
8.4. Spaces ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
8.5. Colons ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
8.6. Dashes ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
9. Spelling ................................................................................................................................... 18
9.1. Hyphenation .................................................................................................................................................... 18
9.2. Compound words .......................................................................................................................................... 18
10. Text formatting ..................................................................................................................... 19
10.1. Italics ................................................................................................................................................................... 19
10.2. Bold and underline ........................................................................................................................................ 19
10.3. Superscript, subscript ................................................................................................................................... 19
11. Word division......................................................................................................................... 19
11.1. Hyphens and hyphenation ......................................................................................................................... 20
11.2. Syllable division .............................................................................................................................................. 20
11.3. Morphological division ................................................................................................................................ 20
11.4. Our recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 20

 Page 3
 12. Helpful information for commissioning departments............................................................ 20
12.1. How to visa a manuscript with corrections in Word (Step 3)......................................................... 21
12.2. How to visa first proofs on paper (Step 6) ............................................................................................ 21
12.3. Covers ................................................................................................................................................................. 21
Alphabetical listing ................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Appendices ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 49
Foreword
The Council of Europe English style guide is for anyone who writes, prepares, translates, types, lays out,
corrects, copy-edits or proofreads documents or publications for the Council of Europe, in-house or
externally.
It is intended to offer clear guidance on typographical, linguistic and stylistic issues and is based upon
rules and standards used in the printing and publishing industries. The inherent challenge in such an
undertaking is twofold: to summarise, in one volume, a number of useful rules and guidelines, and to do
so without reproducing information that can be easily found in the reference works cited at the begin-
ning of this guide (FAQ 1. Sources and reference works, on page 7).
The main objective is to improve the quality of texts produced within the Organisation, both on paper
and in electronic format, making them more coherent and easier to understand. It is our hope to produce
a new, updated edition every two or three years.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to all those who devoted some of their precious time to this new edition, and in particular
the dedicated members of the different departments of the Organisation and our external copy-editors
and proofreaders, whose pertinent – and often difficult – questions help point us in the right direction
to improve this work. We strongly encourage the users of this guide to send any questions and/or sug-
gestions to the following e-mail address, mentioning “Style guide 2021” in the subject line:
[email protected].
Changes since the previous edition
All significant changes since the previous edition (2017) are indicated in dark red in the PDF document,
and appear in grey in the printed version. This is to make it easier for the regular user to pick out the
updated sections.

Editorial Unit
SPDP/Prepress
Council of Europe

 Page 5
FAQs – Frequently asked questions
1. Sources and reference works
1.1. Main reference works
Entries in this style guide are limited to questions not covered in the works listed below. References are
to the latest edition unless otherwise specified.
• Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE)
Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Copy-editing: the Cambridge handbook for editors, authors and publishers (4th edn)
Butcher J., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage
Burchfield R. W., Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Marks for copy preparation and proof correction
British Standard 5261-2:2005, Copy preparation and proof correction. Specification for
typographic requirements, marks for copy preparation and proof correction, proofing
procedure, British Standards Institution, London, 2005.
• The Council of Europe French-English legal dictionary
Bridge F. H. S. (1998), Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg
1.2. Secondary sources
Secondary sources should be considered when the main reference works offer no guidance. These three
works are available as a set from Oxford University Press.
• New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors
Contains an alphabetical listing of recommended uses. May complement the Oxford Dictionary
of English, especially regarding the meaning of foreign words and whether to use italics.
• New Oxford Spelling Dictionary
For spelling and word division.
• New Hart’s Rules
Handbook of style for writers and editors.
1.3. Other publications
The following publications may be of interest.
• European Union Interinstitutional style guide
Publications Office of the European Union, http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-000100.htm.
• English Style Guide – A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission
European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf.
• Essential English – For Journalists, Editors and Writers
Evans H. (2000), Pimlico, London
Originally published as Newsman’s English. Good advice for crisp, clear and precise style.
• The Economist style guide
The Economist/Business Books, London
• Punctuation for now
McDermott J., Macmillan, London
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Truss L., Profile, London

 Page 7
 • The Chicago Manual of Style
University of Chicago Press, Chicago
• The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English
Benson M. et al. (2010), John Benjamins Publishing Co., Amsterdam
• Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Fogarty M. (2008), Holt, New York. See also: www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar
1.4. Complementary online sources
The internet is a rich source of information, but its use is subject to caution as information may be out of
date, politically motivated or just plain wrong. In addition, characters not used in English may be prob-
lematic or ignored entirely, and many sites offering information require a subscription. This section
contains a small selection of useful and reliable sites.
Council of Europe
– Treaty Office website: www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/
– Committee of Ministers adopted texts: www.coe.int/en/web/cm/adopted-texts
– Parliamentary Assembly documents: semantic-pace.net
– HUDOC (European Court of Human Rights case law database): http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/
– Congress of Local and Regional Authorities: www.coe.int/en/web/congress/adopted-texts
Other style guides
– The Guardian and Observer style guide: www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide
– The BBC News Style Guide (2003): http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsstyleguide/
– Elements of Style (William Strunk, Jr.): www.bartleby.com/141/
Online dictionaries
– Oxford Dictionaries (free online version): www.lexico.com
– Oxford English Dictionary Online (by subscription): www.oed.com
Bibliographical references
– British Library catalogues online: www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/catblhold/all/allcat.html
– The Library of Congress Online Catalogue: https://catalog.loc.gov/
Online encyclopedias
– Wikipedia – “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit”: http://en.wikipe-
dia.org/wiki/Main_Page
– Encyclopedia.com – Portal for many free online reference sources: www.encyclopedia.com
– Classic Encyclopedia – based on the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911):
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/
– Symbols.com – Encyclopedia of western signs and ideograms: www.symbols.com
Atlases, geo-political information
– Atlapedia.com: www.atlapedia.com
– Infoplease.com – atlas: www.infoplease.com/atlas
– CIA World Factbook: www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/
Specialist sites
– Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading: https://www.ciep.uk/

2. Abbreviations
Abbreviations should normally be avoided in running text. Use “that is/namely” rather than “i.e.” and “for
instance/for example” rather than “e.g.” We do use “etc.”, preceded by a comma, if more than one term
precedes it, but avoid overuse. Abbreviations can, however, be used to avoid repetition over several sen-
tences or to save space in tables, charts or footnotes, for example. In such cases the following rules apply.

Page 8  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

2.1. Initials
Initials before a surname take points and a following space (J. S. Bach). Initials follow the same rules in
bibliographies, but come after the surname (Evermore R. C.). No commas. See FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on
page 10.
2.2. Acronyms and initialisms
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed with the first letters of a name or common noun com-
prising several words. An acronym is pronounced as a word (e.g. UNESCO, NATO), while in an initialism
each individual letter is pronounced (e.g. DVD, OSCE).
Unless the acronym or initialism is well known (EU, USA, UN), always use the full title the first time it
appears, followed by the acronym in brackets (e.g. “The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) …”).
Acronyms and initialisms should be written in all capitals, subject to the following conditions:
– if an organisation/institution makes consistent use of a different style for the acronym/initialism which
makes up its name, the name of a sub-entity, body or a treaty or convention for which it is responsible,
we must respect their choice. Failing this, try the relevant website, if available;
– if an acronym/initialism is an abbreviated form of the name of anything other than an organisation
(i.e. a syndrome such as Aids), refer to generally accepted practice in the relevant professional fields.
The plural of abbreviations is formed by adding an “s” (lower case, no apostrophe): MPs, NGOs. Acro-
nyms/initialisms that are usually used in the plural should be written as they are spoken (e.g. ICTs, OCTs,
SMEs – not ICT, OCT, SME) unless they are used as a modifier).
The definite article is used with initialisms: the OSCE, the IMF, but not with acronyms: UNESCO, UNMIK.
The World Health Organization is an exception, as referring to “the WHO” can be confused with a certain
British rock’n’roll band. See Appendix 2: common acronyms and initialisms, on page 55, for specific exam-
ples.
2.3. Official texts
In adopted texts, conventions, treaties and other official texts or legal instruments of equal legal
value in English and French, certain abbreviations should be avoided. For example, “EU” (European Un-
ion) and “EP” (European Parliament) are relatively frequent in English, but are not used as commonly in
French, so they should be avoided. This does not hold for publications or other documents.
2.4. Mr, Dr, Ltd, eds, etc.
No full stops
– in contractions (where the short form contains the first and last letters of the complete word): Mr, Dr,
Ltd, eds, etc. The plural of “vol.”, however, is “vols.”, just as the plural of “No.” is “Nos.”.
Full stops
– in abbreviations (where the short form does not contain the last letter of the complete word): pp.,
No. (not “no”), ed. (for “editor” or “edited by”), etc. By this logic, “Rt Hon.” has a stop at the end only.
Note that “St” is used for “Saint”, but “St.” for “street”.
2.5. Measurements
Neither full stop nor “s” on the abbreviated forms of units of weight and measurement in the plural: kg,
km, ha, ft, yd, etc. Leave a space between the number and the unit.
For areas (e.g. square miles) and volumes (e.g. cubic metres), the superscript figures 2 and 3 should be
used only in technical and scientific contexts. Prefer “square kilometres” or “sq. km” to “km2”.
2.6. op. cit., ibid., cf., p., pp., etc.
These abbreviations, and others, are covered in Appendix 3, on page 61, and in the New Oxford Dictionary
for Writers and Editors.

Frequently asked questions  Page 9

3. Bibliographies
3.1. What is a bibliography and why do I need one?
Bibliography is the citing of reference works in a consistent and accurate manner in order to i) offer proof
or justification for what an author is writing; ii) give credit to others whose works contributed to the writing
of a book (and thus avoid being accused of plagiarism); and iii) enable readers to identify and locate the
works cited.
Plagiarism, on the other hand, is taking credit for someone else’s work, in the form of texts, unique ideas,
images or music, whether intentionally or not. This includes using quotations or parts of a work without
acknowledging the original author or artist.
Giving credit for the works, images and ideas used in a publication is an ethical and legal obligation.
If there is any doubt about the true origin of text, images or ideas presented in a publication, please
contact the Editorial Unit immediately.
3.2. How to reference works using the author–date (Harvard) system
Simply put, when authors refer to or reproduce another’s work in the body of their texts, a “short-form”
reference is inserted, like this: “(Smith 2015)” (see 3.3, on page 10). The complete bibliographical refer-
ences are grouped together in an ordered list at the end of the work (see 3.4, on page 10). Readers can
consult this list for more information on the author’s sources.
3.3. Author–date references in the text
When authors refer directly to their sources, a short-form reference is inserted in the text, in parentheses,
providing the name of the author/editor and the year of publication for that work, with no punctuation
between the two. If two or more references have the same author/editor and publication year, each should
have a lower-case letter (roman type) added to the year to distinguish them. Page numbers may be in-
serted after a colon for precision:
– (Smithers 2000)
– (Butcher 2003a)
– (Butcher 2003b: 251-8).
3.4. How to compile a complete bibliography
Do not put full bibliographical references in footnotes. List them all in one place to avoid repetition
and error, save space and make the work easier to read.
Entries are listed in alphabetical order by author/editor. To avoid repeating an author’s name, it can be
replaced with double em-dashes (——) in subsequent entries (but leave the date). Put multiple works by
the same author/editor in date order (earliest first). Then put in date order any works where the same
author/editor is the first named (of two or more); these should be cited as “[Author] et al.” Edited works
may be (but need not be) interfiled with authored works.
Complete bibliographical references in the compiled list should follow this format:
–  Author (date),  Title,  Publisher,  Place of publication.
Koppy E. D. (2010), Proofreading, Tallulah Press, Tallulah.
Commas separate each piece of information and a full stop closes the reference.
For more on referencing articles and other information from websites, see 3.7.8. Websites, on page 12.

 Author (date): author/editor’s surname first, then initial(s); no punctuation between the author’s sur-
name and initial(s) or the date. Initials take points and a space between each if more than one. List
authors/editors with compound names according to the first of their surnames. For names with prefixes
(de, van, von, etc.), list according to the surname and put the prefix after the initial, in parentheses:
– Pozo Martín F. (2015)
– Boer-Buquicchio M. (de) (2016)

Page 10  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Institutions and organisations can appear as the editor of works when no author(s) can be identified.
If no author/editor can be identified, put the title of the work first.
If no date is available, insert “n.d.” (no date) in parentheses (e.g. Smiff (n.d.)).
If two or more references have the same author/editor and publication year, each should have a lower-
case letter (roman type) added to the year to distinguish them (examples listed under 3.3, on page 10).
 Title: titles of books should be in italics (no quotation marks), with initial capitals on the first word of
the title and on proper nouns only (see min. caps, on page 38). Titles of newspapers and journals should
also be in italics, but they keep the capitals of their registered name. Titles of articles, contributions, chap-
ters, dissertations, booklets, reports or unpublished works should be in roman min. caps, in quotation
marks.
For more variations on this format, see FAQ 3.7. Niceties of presenting bibliographies, on page 11.
3.5. “References” and/or “Bibliography”
Three types of list exist:
– a “References” list gives the exact details of works to which the author refers directly in the text; all in-
text references should have a corresponding entry in the references list, and vice-versa;
– a “Bibliography” presents works more or less related to the subject matter of the work and used in
its drafting (like a selected reading list);
– a hybrid “Bibliography” combining the two previous lists under two separate sub-headings: “Refer-
ences” and “Further reading”.
Make sure to separate references and generally related titles into appropriately labelled lists. Grouping
them all in one list is sloppy, imprecise and potentially confusing for the reader.
In general and academic publishing (humanities), bibliographies appear at the end under the heading
“Bibliography”. A list following these guidelines is generally sufficient when the author does not refer
directly to sources in the body of the text.
A reference section, under the heading “References” (not “Bibliography”), comes at the back of the work,
or at the end of each article or contribution in the case of multi-author works.
Both types of list follow the same rules detailed in 3.4. How to compile a complete bibliography, on page
10, and 3.7. Niceties of presenting bibliographies, below.
3.6. Strongly worded advice on bibliographies
Council of Europe style is to prefer the author–date (Harvard) system for references. We strongly
recommend using this system from the outset, as imposing it upon an existing manuscript with an incon-
sistent or insufficient alternative entails a large number of changes, longer production times and increased
cost. Multi-author works with separate bibliographies for each contribution should use the same system
throughout.
Do not put bibliographical references in footnotes. References in footnotes take up a great deal of space
on the page and very quickly become repetitive and unmanageable. In long works with many references,
identical references take up space needlessly, variations of similar references appear by mistake, and so-
called solutions such as “op. cit.”, “see note (number)” or “supra” referring back to previous references are
either useless to the reader or unmanageable for those producing the work. See also FAQ 5. Footnotes and
endnotes, on page 14.
Be advised: the Editorial Unit will apply this practice whenever necessary, thus increasing the cost and
production time of publications/documents should this advice be ignored.
For the use of abbreviations in bibliographical matter (ibid., idem, op. cit., loc. cit., etc.), see Appendix 3:
commonly used foreign words, Latinisms and a few abbr., on page 61, and New Hart’s Rules.
3.7. Niceties of presenting bibliographies
Bold type is only used here to highlight the particular issue and should never be used in practice.

Frequently asked questions  Page 11

 3.7.1. Series
Put series titles (capitals on all significant words) and the number in the series after the title:
– Author (date), Title, Series Title No. in series, Publisher, Place of publication.
Evermore R. (2012), Webliography, Editorial Studies No. 7, Ps & Qs Publishing, London.
3.7.2. Article or chapter in a larger work
Titles of articles/chapters in a larger work appear in min. caps and take quotation marks, followed
by “in” (roman, no punctuation after) and information on the larger work:
– Author (date), “Title”, in Author/editor, Title of work, Publisher, Place of publication.
Hamm E. B. (1980), “A nostalgic analysis of the English breakfast”, in Sauce H. P. (ed.), Cooking
nation, Unwin, London.
3.7.3. Periodicals
Titles of articles in periodicals or journals take quotation marks, followed by the periodical name
(in italics) and number.
Smiff J. (1990), “Culinary upstarts”, Revolutionary Cooking No. 43, pp. 151-67.
Publisher details may be added after the page numbers if known. For titles of periodicals, see FAQ
4.3. Capitalisation in bibliographies, on page 14.
3.7.4. Multi-author works
Up to three authors – put the names as they appear on the cover of the work:
Witherspoon M. and Merry P. (1924), Ersatz upbringing, Pingu Publishing, Cheswick.
More than three authors – first name to appear on the cover of the work, followed by “et al.”
(roman):
Irvine Q. et al. (2007), Lopsided geometry, Fiddlers, Tottenham.
3.7.5. Editors, translators
In compilations and compendiums, the editor’s name appears first, followed by “(ed.)” (plural
“(eds)”). To indicate a translator’s name, add “(tr.)” (plural “(trs)”) after the title, followed by the name:
Wedley H. and Stanley P. (eds) (2010), Antidisestablishmentarianism today, O’Reilly, Cork.
Rubikk E. (1990), Life in a cube, (tr.) Moore S., Lubrik, Sussex.
3.7.6. Editions
As necessary, put the edition number in parentheses after the title, no comma before: “(2nd edn)”:
Wise G. (2012), Penny wise, euro foolish (9th edn), Bankish, London.
3.7.7. Foreign-language titles and translations
Works should be cited as referred to by the author. If the original language is not English, there are
two possibilities: either a reference to an English translation, if available, can be given in addition,
or a translation of the title in English can be given in roman min. caps, in square brackets:
Kastanji L. (1983), Életem, Kiado, Budapest; Engl. translation as My life, Rumhouse, Oxford,
2001.
Rugen I. (1999), Ferien bei mir [Holidays at my place], Stumpf, Berlin.
Conversely, the original-language edition may be specified if the main reference is to a translation:
Nonante J. D. (2000), Insignificant social diseases, Nailer, New York [French orig. Maladies
sociales insignifiantes, Brouette, Paris, 1989].
3.7.8. Websites
References to websites might contain any of the information given above. Follow the basic template
chosen, but add the URL (Universal Resource Locator, or internet address), preceded by “, available

Page 12  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 at”, and provide the date accessed. If the URL begins with “www”, leave off the preceding “http://”
or “https://”, which is unsightly and takes up space:
Hollo Z. (2006), National anthems, national fruits, Fruchthaus, Hamburg, available at
www.homelanddo.org/NANF.html, accessed 1 December 2018.
Sometimes it can be difficult to find an author and/or date of publication for website information.
Give as much information as possible, for example using the website organisation as the author, so
that the information can be found as easily as possible:
Transport for London (n.d.), The river experience, Greater London Authority, available at
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/river/, accessed 26 July 2016.
Be as specific as possible because the internet is constantly changing. Avoid references such as:
“John Doe has written an article. It can be found at www.johndoe.com/article.html”. If the link
changes, the reference is useless; if readers have the exact title or reference of a document, however,
they have a good chance of finding it elsewhere.
3.7.9. Shortening URLs
Long URLs are unsightly, illegible and impractical. Fortunately, there are a number of reliable URL
shorteners out there (Bitly, TinyURL, Is.gd and Bit.do; Goo.gl used to be a popular option, but has
been discontinued). Options include creating an account with your preferred provider, link
customisation, real-time statistics and browser extensions, to name but a few. Authors are
encouraged to explore the possibilities this technique offers.

4. Capitalisation
There is a trend in British English away from capital letters. Book titles, for example, are often no longer
capitalised throughout, and have only an initial capital on the first word and proper nouns (see min. caps,
on page 38).
Put initial capitals on a full name or official title only if it is complete or in a commonly accepted short
form (e.g. “the 3rd Summit” instead of “the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council
of Europe”). This applies when referring to an institution, conference, committee or other body, action
plan, campaign, project, programme, process, strategy, job title, document, legal instrument, article, ses-
sion or geographical formations such as rivers, mountains, bodies of water, etc. Quote the title of official
and adopted texts (recommendations, resolutions, etc.), as they were first written – in other words, ac-
cording to the practice prevailing at the time of adoption. This is less strictly applied to titles in
bibliographies (see FAQ 4.3. Capitalisation in bibliographies, on page 14).
When the reference is specific
the Ukrainian Chairmanship/Presidency [e.g. of the Committee of Ministers], the Chair/President of
the Committee on Climate Change, the Committee of Experts on Social Affairs, the European
Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant
Children in Europe, the Swiss Government, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Latvian Parliament,
the European Youth Centre, Recommendation Rec(2016)1, Article 6.1, the 44th Session, the
Communist Party USA, the Mississippi River, the River Thames, the Danube Basin, the Nile Valley,
Mount Fuji;
In general use
the chairmanship/presidency, the chair/president, the committee, a treaty, a charter, the action plan,
the government, the prime minister, the parliament, the centre, the recommendation, an article, the
session, a communist, the river, a valley, a mountain.
Use the same rule when the reference is plural. If the full form is used and/or the reference is specific (e.g.
“Articles 2 and 3”, “Recommendations Rec(2004)12 and Rec(2004)24”, “the Finnish and Russian Govern-
ments”), use initial capitals; but do not otherwise (several articles, four recommendations, two
governments).

Frequently asked questions  Page 13

The use of an acronym/initialism does not justify the use of initial capitals in the full form when none of
the words used would otherwise require initial capitals (e.g. information and communication technologies,
ICTs).
Do not change capitalisation within quotations.
4.1. Council of Europe style
The following are generally lower case: titles of draft documents or agreements; member (PACE delega-
tion); paragraph; meeting; partner for democracy (status).
“Party” or “contracting party” are lower case, unless in a convention or other legal instrument, or with the
title of such an agreement (e.g. State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights).
When the text of a convention and other legal instrument refers to itself (e.g. “this Convention/
Recommendation/etc.”), initial capitals should be used. The same rule applies for an explanatory memo-
randum/report relating directly to such a text (see explanatory memorandum/report, on page 33).
The following exceptions are made for certain well-established short forms in general use and when the
context ensures that the reference is clear: the Convention [for the Protection of Human Rights and Fun-
damental Freedoms]; the [European] Court [of Human Rights]; the [(revised) European Social] Charter; the
[Parliamentary] Assembly; the Bureau [of the Parliamentary Assembly]. See the alphabetical listing for
other exceptions.
In relation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, “Representative”, “Substitute”, “Special
guest” and “Observer” take initial capitals when referring to people, as opposed to states or other entities:
“Damien Abad, Representative, Group of the European People’s Party”; “Raivo Aeg, Substitute, Group of
the European People’s Party”, etc.
In titles and headings, put a capital letter after an en-dash, but not after a colon (see FAQ 8.6. Dashes, on
page 17).
4.2. State: initial capital or lower case? A matter of context
In publications, reports or generally any type of document not listed below, “state” is always lower case
(state, member state, special guest state, observer state, state party, etc.).
In statutory texts (ETS and CETS legal instruments, adopted texts of the Committee of Ministers, Parlia-
mentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, judgments and decisions of the
European Court of Human Rights), however, an initial capital letter is used (State, member State, non-
member State, observer State, etc.).
Compound or derived forms such as “interstate”, “non-state” and “stateless” are lower case in all contexts.
4.3. Capitalisation in bibliographies
Initial capitals in the titles of published works present a particular problem in bibliographies, where the
reader is confronted with many different styles. To avoid inconsistency, experience has shown that the
easiest approach to this problem is to harmonise along the lines of Council of Europe practice, as laid out
at the beginning of this section. This means book and article titles in bibliographies and reference lists
should have initial capitals on the first word of the title and on proper nouns only, but not on the other
words (see min. caps, on page 38). The titles of newspapers and journals should keep the capitals of their
registered name.
Do not change initial capitals for the foreign-language titles of books, organisations, etc., as they may not
follow the same rules as English titles. Check titles on the internet or with a native speaker if in doubt.

5. Footnotes and endnotes

Use sparingly – incorporate information into the body of the text if relevant, and delete otherwise. Foot-
notes clutter up the page and make the work more difficult to read. Very long and/or numerous footnotes
cause serious technical problems at layout, especially when used in tables. Avoid entirely on title pages,
headings, display elements and so on.

Page 14  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Keep footnotes in tables to a minimum. Notes in tables should be referenced using either symbols or
lower-case letters and should appear at the foot of the table, not at the foot of the page. This is to avoid
both confusion between the footnotes in tables with those in the text, and technical difficulties at layout.
Do not put bibliographical references in footnotes. Use the author–date system in conjunction with a
reference list at the end of the work/article (see FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on page 10). This style should be
consistently applied throughout, particularly in multi-author works.
5.1. Footnotes vs. endnotes
Footnotes and endnotes serve different purposes, depending on the type of publication, the information
they contain and the intended readership. They may coexist within a single publication, assuming their
use is clearly distinguished (e.g. author’s notes and editor’s notes). Most non-specialist literature uses
footnotes, which are easier for the reader to consult.
5.2. Style and formatting
Footnote cues: use superscript numbers as footnote cues in the body of the text, not symbols (*, §, †, ‡).
Footnotes should be numbered from “1” to “n” throughout the book. Footnote cues should be placed
after any punctuation. Do not put brackets around footnote cues.
Footnotes: each note begins with a number, not superscript, followed by a full stop and a single space.
Do not use a hanging-indent paragraph format for footnote text. The footnote should be in a smaller
typeface (8-point notes for 10-point body text, for example). 1

6. Lists
Lists, like all text, should be grammatically sound. Check that each entry reads on logically and grammat-
ically from the preceding text. A simple list of one-word entries following an introductory sentence ending
with a colon requires no punctuation apart from a final full stop at the end. For example:
The weather in Strasbourg can be:
– rainy
– snowy
– cold.
Longer lists with more complex entries require more attention. There are essentially two possibilities:
– the preceding text ends with a colon and the list continues the sentence, each entry beginning with a lower-
case letter and ending with a semi-colon, except the final entry, which ends with a full stop (the case of this
list);
– the introductory sentence ends with a full stop and each entry is composed of one or more full sen-
tences, all beginning with a capital and ending with a full stop.
Do not mix the two styles above within the same list. In manuscripts, prefer en-dashes (flush left) to bullet
points at the first level, followed by indented dashes at the second level, as necessary.

7. Numbers, figures, numerals

7.1. House style
For cardinals and ordinals, set one to nine in letters, 10 and after in figures. Prefer all figures in an enu-
meration.
Hard (non-breaking) spaces, not commas, separate thousands: 4 000, 500 000; but points separate deci-
mals: 26.5, 426.25. Use an en-dash as a minus sign for negative numbers.

1. For more information on the use of footnotes and endnotes, see Butcher, on page 7.

Frequently asked questions  Page 15

Avoid starting a sentence with a figure. For example, say “The year 1988 was momentous”, instead of
“1988 was a momentous year …”; “Some 48 people were involved …”, instead of “48 people were involved
…”
Numbers which form part of a compound modifier, such as “an eight-member committee” or “a 21-gun
salute”, should follow general house-style rules given above.
No.: abbreviate “number” as “No.” (“No. 1”, plural “Nos. 1 and 2”). Initial capital, the “o” should not be
written in superscript, full stop after the “o” and a space before the number. The European Court of Human
Rights’ practice here is at variance with the rest of the Council of Europe (“application no.”) and should be
brought into line with general practice in any publications not emanating from the Court itself.
For millions or billions, use the figure followed by the word “million” or “billion”. The figure 1 billion means
109 (1 000 000 000); the dated usage of “billion” for 1012 should not be followed.
For numerals in conjunction with units of weight and measure, see FAQ 2. Abbreviations, on page 8.
7.2. Special cases and exceptions
Ages, quantities, dimensions, units: always given in figures (especially before an abbreviation): children
aged 5 and above, 6 kg, 3 metres, 9 tonnes.
Centuries: Ordinals denoting centuries, should always be in figures (e.g. 19th century). See FAQ 10.3.
Superscript, subscript, on page 19.
Series of conferences, sessions, etc.: numbered with figures: 18th Conference of European Ministers of
Education, 44th Ordinary Session.
Percentages: prefer the symbol “%” (or “‰” for per mille, ‰0 for per myriad), no space between the
figure and the symbol; in words write “per cent”, “per mille” or “per myriad” (two words, no point). In
statistics each decimal place, even if zero, adds to accuracy: 3.5% is not the same as 3.50% or 3½%. The
fraction is perceived as more approximate. Repeat the percentage symbol in ranges linked by “to” or
“and”, (“from/between 50% to/and 60%), but not when linked with a hyphen: “30-40%”.
Degrees: use figures with degree symbol for temperature, alcohol content, angles and latitude and lon-
gitude: 25°C, Strasbourg is 48° 34’ 24” N by 7° 45’ 8” E.
Pagination, etc.: use figures (e.g. p. 250, Fig. 5, footnote 6).
Ranges: a range of numbers may be elided (e.g. page numbers: “pp. 312-17”); use “to” in case of ambi-
guity, particularly with measurements which may use a descending as well as an ascending scale: “31-5”
may mean “31 to 5” or “31 to 35” in some cases; write either “from 50 to 100” or “50-100”; but not “from
50-100”.
Roman numerals: use only for titles, appendices, book or document sections, etc., and royalty (e.g. Elizabeth
II).

8. Punctuation
Do not insert spaces before punctuation in English-language texts.
8.1. Quotation marks
Use typographic, double quotation marks, i.e. double “smart quotes”, not ‘single’ or "upright quotes".
Use double quotation marks (“…”) for a first quotation, and single quotation marks (‘…’) for a quotation
within a quotation. Should a third level of quotation appear, revert to double quotation marks.
Keep the punctuation with the sentence to which it belongs, bearing in mind that a comma may fulfil the
purpose of a full stop at the end of the quoted sentence.
Examples:
– “Yes, by all means, if it’s fine on Thursday,” said Mr Hamilton.
– “Have you any idea,” said Sir Montgomery, “what a ‘Jabberwocky’ is?”
– The report concluded that the project had been “a complete waste of money”.

Page 16  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Set titles of articles in periodicals and chapters in books in double quotation marks in bibliographies.
When reproducing several lines or paragraphs of text in a publication or report, it can be helpful to the
reader to display the text by indenting it and using a smaller font size. If displayed, quotation marks are
not necessary at the beginning and end of the quotation. See displayed quotes/extracts, on page 31.
8.2. Square brackets
Explanatory text added to a quotation, which does not form part of the quoted matter, should be placed
within square brackets. For example: “the aim of the [European Social] Charter is …”.
Do not use square brackets for ellipses (see 8.3. Ellipses).
8.3. Ellipses
An ellipsis indicates when part of a quoted text is not reproduced. This is represented by three points
(space before and after). Do not use an ellipsis at the beginning or end of quoted matter (by definition
an extract), unless you wish to indicate a pause at the end of reported speech (“suspension points”). Do
not use enclosing square brackets or parentheses, or add a fourth full stop. Be wary of changing the
meaning of a quote by including or omitting punctuation before or after an ellipsis. Refer to New Hart’s
Rules for more details.
8.4. Spaces
Do not insert double spaces after a full stop in running text. This is a throwback to the days of typewriters
which used monospace fonts – a very long time ago, indeed – when the intention was to make type easier
to read. They will systematically be replaced with single spaces.
8.5. Colons
A colon does not signify the end of a sentence, so the following text should not begin with an initial
capital. Do not use colons at the end of headings. A colon can be used to:
– divide a sentence into two parts that contrast with or balance each other;
– introduce a list or series of elements (see FAQ 8.6. Dashes, below);
– separate hours and minutes (8:30 a.m.; see dates and time, on page 30);
– indicate page numbers in an author–date reference (Smiff 2018: 25; see FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on page
10).
8.6. Dashes
Three types of dash are commonly used in typesetting:
– - hyphen (French: trait d’union);
– – en-dash (French: tiret) (width of a capital “N”); [CTRL+NUM-], or [ALT+0150];
– — em-dash (French: tiret long) (width of a capital “M”); [ALT+CTRL+NUM-] or [ALT+0151].
Hyphens are generally used to:
– add a prefix or join a compound word: “anti-nuclear movement”, “broad-brush”;
– indicate a range of numbers or period of time: “300-400 participants”, “1990-95”, “20-24 January”;
– indicate word breaks at the end of a line (soft hyphen, automatically inserted by word-processing
software if the hyphenation option is activated).
En-dashes are used:
– to introduce a parenthesis, either paired or singly: “The Council of Europe – founded by 10 states in
1949 – does not always receive the recognition it deserves.” A space should be typed either side of the
en-dash;
– to introduce listed items or sub-paragraphs;
– to express connection or relation of equality (roughly “to” or “at”) between two nouns: “editor–author
collaboration” (use a hyphen if the elements are adjectives: “Sino-Soviet”);
– as a minus sign on negative numbers: “Temperatures dropped to –20° C”.
Em-dashes are rarely used in Council of Europe publications (see FAQ 3.4. How to compile a bibliography,
on page 10.

Frequently asked questions  Page 17

9. Spelling
Consult the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English (or www.lexico.com) first for spelling and
some elements of style. Failing this, check the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors and New
Hart’s Rules, then the other sources listed above as necessary.
Internet search results can indicate predominant, if not necessarily correct, usage. Use with caution.
Use British English, not American (e.g. honour, labour, paediatrics, sceptical, traveller, combating v. honor,
labor, pediatrics, skeptical, traveler, combatting). Note that our practice differs from that of the recognised
sources in the following areas:
– in general, use the “-ise” spelling rather than the “-ize” variant;
– for “practice”, “licence” and other c/s words, spell with “c” for the noun, “s” for the verb (think of “ad-
vice” and “advise”, where the pronunciation acts as a reminder;
– use -ct-, rather than -x- in “connection”, “reflection”, etc.
– spell “co-operate”, “co-ordinate”, “unco-ordinated”, etc., with hyphens.
For borrowed words which now form part of the English language, form the plural with an “s” as in English.
For example: forums, memorandums v. fora, memoranda. Both remain correct, however. Ensure consistency.
9.1. Hyphenation
Always make sure the correct language option is set in word processing and DTP software.
One word cannot be hyphenated twice. In certain circumstances, word processing and DTP software may
break the word “co-operate”, for instance, incorrectly to give “co-op-erate”. Correct this.
9.1.1. When to hyphenate
– to separate prefixes where vowels might otherwise be pronounced as a diphthong: re-enter, co-
opt; or with other letter combinations where the pronunciation might be ambiguous, such as
co-production;
– where the second element of a compound word takes a capital: pan-European, anti-Maastricht;
– with compound adjectives, to clarify the sense: consider the difference between “a little-used
car” and “a little used car” (example from The Economist style guide);
– with “well + adjective” before a noun: “a well-read woman”, “a well-meaning idea”; but not after
a noun: “I like my steaks well done”;
– when using an adjective as a modifier: “20th-century history”, but “in the 20th century”;
“decision-making authority”, but “responsible for decision making”; “awareness-raising meas-
ure”, but “awareness raising on human rights”;
– with nouns based on phrasal verbs (e.g. “to hold up a bank”, but “a hold-up at the bank”; “to
follow up an issue”, but “the follow-up on the issue”);
9.1.2. When not to hyphenate
– in adverb + adjective combinations where the adverb ends in “-ly” (“a happily married couple”);
– with fractions when spelt out and used as a noun (“The rent takes up two thirds of their in-
come.”); insert hyphens when used as an adverb or adjective (“two-thirds complete”, “a two-
thirds increase”).
For more on hyphenation, see New Hart’s Rules, Chapter 3, and FAQ 8.6. Dashes, on page 17.
9.2. Compound words
It is difficult to lay down rules about the use of the hyphen in compound words, since preferences vary
between users and hyphens are often dropped in words accepted into daily speech. As a basic rule, “cyber”
and “inter” are always attached (no hyphen), but other prefixes that have no existence as separate words,
such as “ex” or “non”, may be either hyphenated or run together, in which case look in the dictionary to
make sure. See also multi-, on page 38.

Page 18  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

10. Text formatting
10.1. Italics
Text can be formatted as either roman (upright) or italics, a sloping style of typeface.
Do not allow italics for emphasis. If the sentence does not convey the right stress without italics, rephrase
it.
Foreign words that have not yet been sufficiently assimilated into the English language are italicised.
Convention, not logic, generally determines which words meet this assimilation criterion. See individual
words in Appendix 3: commonly used foreign words, Latinisms and a few abbr. on page 61 or, failing this,
the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors. This applies to foreign words used in a general sense,
not to proper names or, more specifically, the names of regions, districts, administrations, courts, organ-
isations or bodies, which should appear in roman type (with a possible translation in brackets).
Land/Länder, for example, are set in italics because they are used in a general sense; “Bundestag”, how-
ever, is in roman type.
Use italics for the full titles of court cases (European Court of Human Rights and other), including the “v.”,
e.g. Campbell v. the United Kingdom. In references to cases such as “the Campbell case”, leave the case
name in roman, see court cases, on page 29.
The titles of books, periodicals, journals, plays, poems, films, songs and online encyclopedias (such as
Wikipedia) are italicised, as are ship names and biological names (see biological names, on page 26). For
more on the use of italics in bibliographies, see FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on page 10.
Parentheses: when all of a passage in parentheses is in italics, the parentheses should also be in italics; if
not, the parentheses should be in roman type.
When a title or other piece of text is italicised, any words that, according to the above rules, should be
printed in italics are usually set instead in roman (a sort of “reverse italics”).
10.2. Bold and underline
There should be no bold or underlining in the body of the text. Use bold for headings and table headers.
10.3. Superscript, subscript
Superscript type is primarily used for footnote/endnote cues in Council of Europe publications (see FAQ
5. Footnotes and endnotes, on page 14), but both superscript and subscript type can obviously be used in
mathematical, chemical or other formulas where appropriate. Other abbreviations may be defined in con-
text.
Do not use superscript for ordinals (1st, 2nd, 3rd) or abbreviations/contractions (Dr, Mr, Mrs). If necessary,
adjust the default settings of any automatic formatting options in the word-processing software in use.

11. Word division

Words can be divided at the ends of lines of text in justified paragraphs to avoid large spaces appearing
between words, particularly in lines containing several long words. Word division is only used in justified
paragraphs, never in paragraphs that have a ragged-right margin.
Word divisions are determined using a combination of rules based on pronunciation (syllable division)
and others based on the constituent parts of words (their morphology). A few guidelines are given below,
but we recommend consulting the New Oxford Spelling Dictionary (on page 7) for individual words. Dic-
tionaries will often indicate levels of “preferred” and “permitted” divisions.
Never allow line breaks at the end of a page, or more than two successive lines ending in word breaks.
Word division is language-specific, so the rules in one language cannot be applied in another. This is why
the correct language setting must be used in word processing and desktop publishing software.

Frequently asked questions  Page 19

11.1. Hyphens and hyphenation
When a word breaks at the end of a line, a soft (or discretionary) hyphen is inserted at the break point. A
hard hyphen is one that is a mandatory part of the word (e.g. “fleet-footed”). Words that contain a hard
hyphen have only one possibility for division at the end of a line: the existing (hard) hyphen. For more on
hyphens and other dashes, see FAQ 8.6. Dashes, on page 17.

11.2. Syllable division

Word division should correspond as closely as possible to syllable division (con|stant, bar|ber), without
being misleading or confusing to the reader as to the meaning of the word. Unfortunate divisions such
as therapist > the|rapist should also be avoided.
11.3. Morphological division
Divide words according to their construction: for compound words, divide between the constituent words
(bath|tub, rain|bow); or divide at a prefix or suffix (help|less, in|dent). This applies unless the division is
contrary to accepted pronunciation (chil|dren, not child|ren; human|ism, but criti|cism).
11.4. Our recommendations
Divide gerunds and present participles at “-ing”, unless they end in “-ling”. “Puz-zling” is a notable excep-
tion.
If in doubt, try dividing after an unstressed vowel (insti|gate, repli|cate) or between two vowels or conso-
nants that are pronounced separately (conster|nate, initi|ate).
Do not:
– divide words of one syllable or fewer than six letters (exceptions do exist, however);
– leave one letter at the end of a line;
– leave fewer than three letters on the next line;
– allow automatic line breaks in URLs, as inserting a soft hyphen will prevent the internet link from func-
tioning; only divide at existing punctuation (hyphens, slashes, underscores or full stops), ensuring that
no soft hyphen is added;
– divide numbers in figures, even at decimal points; spaces between thousands must be non-breaking;
– separate numbers and abbreviated units across lines.

12. Helpful information for commissioning departments

This section contains general information on the production of ISBN publications at the Council of Europe
(see Figure 1, below), but which may also apply to other production processes. Feel free to contact the
Editorial Unit for more information, before starting the process or at any stage of production.
Figure 1: Publication production process (simplified)

Step 2
Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Final
Step 1 Step 6
Copy-editing checking
Visa of edited Layout Proofreading
Initial PREMS of Visa of corrected and print
manuscript on paper
request with manuscript (PAO or proofs order
proofs
original in Word (commissioning external (commissioning
(Editorial (Editorial
manuscript (Editorial department) typesetter) department)
Unit) Unit) Unit)

Page 20  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

12.1. How to visa a manuscript with corrections in Word (Step 3)
The Editorial Unit sends the corrected manuscript (Word file) to the commissioning department by e-mail
or via the prepress management system (PREMS). This file has the copy-editor’s corrections in “Track
Changes” and any queries or comments for the authors. Additional notes and queries may be provided in a
separate file.
The commissioning department’s task is to review the proposed changes, answer any questions and send
a “clean” file, without Track Changes or comments, back to the Editorial Unit. The following instructions
will help you do this.
12.1.1. Corrections in Track Changes
The modifications in Track Changes are the professional copy-editor’s proposed grammatical, stylistic or
factual corrections. They are based on linguistic and industry standards and Council of Europe practice.
The first step is to “reject” any changes you cannot agree with. This will then allow you to accept all of the
remaining changes with one click (“Accept all Changes in Document”). Once you have dealt with the Track
Changes, address any comments or queries.
12.1.2. Comments
Copy-editors often encounter questions they cannot answer alone because they reflect the author’s in-
tentions. They usually ask the author to clarify ambiguous points (unexplained acronyms, incomplete or
missing references, inconsistencies, contradictions, factual or linguistic issues, etc.). Delete all comments
once finished.
Once all the Track Changes and comments have been removed from the file, it should be renamed (file
name + “visad”) and then sent to the Editorial Unit by e-mail ([email protected]) or via PREMS.
Important: any issues relating to the text, images, charts or other illustrations must be resolved before
sending the manuscript for layout. Extensive changes cannot be made after layout, so make sure that you
only send the finalised manuscript back to the Editorial Unit. Contact the Editorial Unit if in doubt.
12.2. How to visa first proofs on paper (Step 6)
The finalised manuscript goes to a typesetter for layout according to the specifications and visual identity
of the Organisation. After layout, the typesetter provides the Editorial Unit with the first proofs. A profes-
sional proofreader then proofreads the first proofs on paper. The commissioning department must then
visa the proposed modifications.
The Editorial Unit will send the proofread paper copy of the first proofs – with the proofreader’s correc-
tions, comments and questions – to the commissioning department. Please go through the document,
marking any additional corrections or crossing out those that you reject. Help us distinguish your correc-
tions from the proofreader's (e.g. use a different colour pen). Please return the visa’d proofs in a timely
manner. Delays at this stage cannot be made up later and may compromise your deadline.
Important: author's corrections (anything that is not the typesetter’s fault, such as modifications to the
text) at this stage are billed; they should only be made in cases of absolute necessity. Obvious errors must
be corrected, but rewriting or restructuring the work at this stage is extremely costly and time consuming.
This is usually the last time the commissioning department will see the publication before printing. Inform
the Editorial Unit if you want to check the next set of proofs, after correction.
12.3. Covers
12.3.1. How to write a back-cover blurb
All publications require a back-cover blurb, as this is usually a potential reader’s first contact with a book
and may determine whether they purchase it or not. It is also used to present your book on the Council
of Europe online bookshop and catalogue (book.coe.int). Take advantage of the opportunity this space
offers to sell your publication to potential readers!
Keep it short and to the point. Do not attempt to summarise the contents. There is no need to repeat the
title. Above all, avoid specialist jargon, empty verbiage and administrative formulations such as: “in the

Frequently asked questions  Page 21

framework of Plan A”, “as part of Programme B”, “under the auspices of C”, “as advocated in the document
D”, etc. None of this will entice the reader or contribute to increasing your readership.
Keep the blurb to 250 words or fewer. Generally, three paragraphs will do. The first paragraph “sets the
scene”, describing a situation or problematic that the book will cover in some way. The rest of the blurb
can explain how the book offers some insight into the problem. Prefaces, executive summaries, introduc-
tions and conclusions are good places to find this information.
Before writing your blurb, try to answer some of the following questions:
– Who is the book intended for?
– What is the problem/situation regarding the topic at hand?
– Why should the reader feel concerned?
– What solutions, insights or improvements does the book offer?
– What is the purpose of the publication?
Important: please submit your draft blurb along with the manuscript in your PREMS request, or at latest
with the visa’d manuscript (12.1, above). It will be reviewed by the Editorial Unit before the cover is laid
out. The cover must also receive a visa from the Directorate of Communications.
12.3.2. Cover visuals
Publication and document covers are laid out according to the visual identity of the Organisation. Only
photos may be used to illustrate the cover, not drawings or abstract compositions. The commissioning
department must choose a photo for the cover and submit it to the SPDP via PREMS. The Council of
Europe has a subscription with Shutterstock.com, but photos from other sources may be suitable.
Important: make sure that you have permission to use the photo(s); copyright may apply. If in doubt,
contact the Editorial Unit.

Page 22  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Alphabetical listing

A
abbreviations
See FAQ 2. Abbreviations, on page 8.
above-mentioned
Two words, hyphenate.
accents and diacritical marks
Very few words in English require accents, but they are retained for some foreign or borrowed
words. These are covered in the reference works cited above; if not, it is usually because the word
is not naturalised in English, in which case it takes italics and its normal accents. Partly naturalised
words, like “naïve”, are roman with accents.
Keep accents on proper names except for geographical names with anglicised spellings (e.g.
“Zurich”).
acquis
Italics (e.g. acquis communautaire). The EU or Community acquis is the whole body of EU
legislation.
acronyms
See FAQ 2. Abbreviations, on page 8.
act, legislative
To standardise practice and avoid confusion, use the British system for non-English speaking
countries, following the example of the European Court of Human Rights.
act v. law
– Prefer “Law” if followed by a number, and “Act” without (e.g. “Law No. 315”, but “Administrative
Court Act”).
– Capitalise both “Act” and “Law” if the name appears in full, and “Law” if followed by a number,
otherwise use lower case (e.g. “section 28 of the recent act refers to …”).
article v. section
– article: of a convention, code, decree, constitution (initial cap if followed by a number – e.g.
“Article 25 of the Criminal Code”).
– section: Act, Law or Ordinance (no initial cap, even when followed by a number – e.g. “section
2 of the 1976 Act”).
bill v. act or law
– A bill is a draft law presented to a legislative body for discussion.
– An act or law is a legislative text that has been passed or adopted by a legislative body.
Paragraphs, articles, sections, etc.
– Paragraph(s): write out in full or, if in long lists or tables, use “para.” or “paras.” (e.g. “Article 6,
paragraph 2, of the Convention”).
– Do not use section/subsection marks “§” or “§§” unless they appear in quoted matter.
– Short form: use a full stop between the article/section and the paragraph (e.g. “Article 6.2 of
the Convention”).
action
Do not use this term as a synonym for “project”, “programme”, “measure” or “scheme”. This usage
is common in “international English”, but is awkward, unnatural and even misleading for native

 Page 23
 speakers, particularly in the plural form. Here the term is a non-count noun (no plural form) and
the general meaning is “the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim”
(Oxford English Dictionary). Prefer the alternatives given above, when appropriate.
As a count noun (with a plural form), “action” simply means “a deed” or “a thing done” (e.g. “He
is accountable for his actions”), and should not be confused with the terms listed above.
action plan
Full titles of action plans, campaigns, processes, projects, programmes and strategies take initial
capital letters on all significant words and no inverted commas, e.g. “the Council of Europe
Disability Action Plan”. Lower case otherwise. See FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
actor
When speaking of “a participant in an action or process”, it is often better to avoid this term and
be specific. “International actors”, for example, can be understood as famous film stars. Consider:
participant, decision maker, stakeholder, member, activist, advocate, proponent, leader, partner,
associate, contributor, player, party, figure, professional, a person involved in, etc.
AD
In dates, AD and BC look better in small capitals, with a non-breaking space between the year and
the period marker: “Columbus sailed to the New World in AD 1492”. Note that AD precedes the
year, whereas BC follows the year (333 BC).
Sometimes the more politically correct CE (Common Era) or BCE (Before Common Era) are used
instead of AD and BC. These forms follow the year.
ad hoc
Roman, lower case unless part of the title of a committee, in which case “Ad hoc”, with capital “A”
and lower-case “h”. Never hyphenate.
administration
Lower case for general use. When referring to a government, e.g. “the US Administration”, use an
initial capital as this is analogous to “the German Government”.
adopted texts of Council of Europe organs and institutions
Committee of Ministers
Recommendation
– up to and including Recommendation No. R (2000) 13: “Recommendation No. R”, followed by
the year in parentheses (a space on either side of the parentheses), followed by the number;
– from Recommendation Rec(2000)14 onwards: “Recommendation Rec”, followed by the year in
parentheses (no space either side of the parentheses), followed by the number;
Resolution
– up to and including Resolution (2000) 6: “Resolution”, followed by the year in parentheses (a
space on either side of the parentheses), followed by the number;
– from Resolution Res(2000)7 onwards: “Resolution Res” followed by the year in parentheses (no
space either side of the parentheses), followed by the number.
As from 1 January 2007, all Committee of Ministers recommendations and resolutions take the
prefix “CM/” before “Rec” or “Res”. The designation of recommendations and resolutions adopted
in the framework of partial agreements does not change, however, as these are adopted by the
contracting parties to the partial agreements, not by the Committee of Ministers as such.
Therefore:
– CM/Rec(2007)1, CM/Res(2007)1, but ResAP(2007)1.
Parliamentary Assembly
Recommendation, resolution, opinion, order

Page 24  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 These only take upper case when followed by a number. Spaces should be inserted between the
title and the number and date, e.g. “Recommendation 1423 (1998)”.
NB the Parliamentary Assembly no longer adopts orders: the last was No. 587, adopted on 2 April
2003.
al-
Lower case and hyphen for the definite article (e.g. “al-Qaeda”, “al-Jazeera”, “al-Aqsa”), but capital
A for kin group (e.g. “Al Fayed”).
al-Qaeda
a.m.
ante meridiem means “before noon”, i.e. before 12 o’clock midday. Lower case, full stops, non-
breaking space before: “10 a.m”. Leave off double zeros for full hours. NB 12 a.m. denotes
midnight and 12 p.m. denotes midday/noon. To avoid confusion, prefer “12 midday/noon” and
“12 midnight”.
ambassador
Takes title capital when referring to a particular ambassador.
America(n)
Noun and adjective should be used to refer to the continents of North, Central and South America,
not to the United States of America. See USA, on page 46.
antigypsyism
antisemitism
anti-terrorism
appendix
Lower case except when followed by a number. Always write out in full (never “App.”). Plural
“appendices” (in anatomy: “appendixes”). Try to avoid use of the term “Annex”, although it may
appear in adopted texts and conventions (e.g. ETS No. 78). Verify before changing.
article
Always written out in full (never “art.”). Initial capital if followed by a number. See act, legislative,
on page 23, for more.
as well as
as well as ≠ and – “And” is a simple conjunction of elements, but “as well as” places greater
emphasis on the expression preceding it than on the one following it, which is assumed. For
example:
– “Human rights apply online and offline.” No real hierarchy in the presentation.
– “Human rights apply online as well as offline.” “Online” is emphasised here: it is assumed that
human rights apply offline, and the author wants to stress that they apply online, too.
Furthermore, “as well as” is not a simple translation of the French “ainsi que”. Viable alternatives
include: “and”, “along with”, “in addition to” and “also”.
Ashkalia
Invariable. Ethnic group from South-East Europe.
asylum seeker/asylum-seeking
audiovisual
One word, no hyphen.

Alphabetical listing  Page 25

awareness raising
Do not hyphenate when used as a noun. As with other constructions (decision making, policy
making, etc.), hyphenate when used as a modifier. See also FAQ 9.1.1. When to hyphenate, on page
18.

B
Balkan Wars
Two wars in South-East Europe in 1912-13. Not the “war in the Balkans” (see Yugoslav Wars, on
page 47).
Baltic states
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.
banlieue(s)
French word for a suburb of a large city. No italics.
the Bar
BC
See AD, on page 24.
Belarus
Formerly “Byelorussia”, name changed in 1992, but may be correct in a historical context. See
Appendix 1b: other relevant states, on page 52, for more details. Adjective “Belarusian”.
Bern Convention
Short form for the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats. Try
to remain consistent, avoiding “Berne” for both the city and the convention.
bibliography
See FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on page 10.
big data
big tech
biological names
A genus and its subdivisions are printed in italics (usually two, sometimes three words). The first
letter of the first word is capitalised. Examples from Council of Europe publications: Ursus arctos
(brown bear), Marsilea quadrifolia (four-leaf clover), Canis lupus (wolf). The name of the person
who suggested the name is sometimes added, often in abbreviated form: it is printed in roman:
Felis leo Scop. (lion).
Divisions larger than genus (phylum, class, order and family) have an initial capital but are printed
in roman. Examples from The Chicago Manual of Style: Chordata, Chondrichthyes, Monotremata,
Hominidae, Carnivora. If anglicised they drop the capital: hominids, carnivores.
biomedicine
ETS No. 164: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with
regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.
Abbreviated to “Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine”, or the “Oviedo Convention”.
bis
Roman. Same for “ter”, “quater”, “quinquies”, “sexies”, “septies”, “octies”, “novies”, “decies”.
bloc
Never “block” when referring to a group of countries or political parties (e.g. Soviet bloc, Eastern
bloc).

Page 26  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Bosnia and Herzegovina
With “z”. Not hyphenated. Avoid the abbreviations “BiH” and “B&H”. Grammatically singular, e.g.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country divided into two entities…” The two constituent entities are
the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The three peoples are the
Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs, but all three are referred to as Bosnian.
Bretton Woods institutions
The World Bank and its sister organisation, the International Monetary Fund, were created at
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944. They are referred to as the Bretton Woods institutions,
or BWIs.
Britain
The island also called “Great Britain”; it comprises England, Scotland and Wales.
budget
Generally lower case: 2015 budget. But Council of Europe Programme and Budget.
bureau (pl. bureaux)

C
campaign titles
See action plan, on page 24. See also conferences, on page 28.
capitalisation
See FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
cardinal points
North(ern), east(ern), south(ern), west(ern), when used in a general sense, take no initial capital.
Use “northern England”, “south-eastern France”, “the west of Ireland”, etc. to describe areas
defined by their location relative to another point within the area of reference. In other words,
when used in a purely geographical sense, these terms and their composed forms are written in
lower case.
For names of countries or where a region has a defined boundary, some official status and/or
political/historical significance, use a capital: Eastern bloc, North America, North Korea, South
Africa, East Anglia, the North Caucasus, South-East Asia. See South-East Europe, on page 44.
Since the blurring of the distinction between “western” and “eastern” Europe, capitals are no
longer necessary. Likewise for “central and eastern Europe”.
However, a distinction is still made between “North” and “South”, and “East” and “West”,
respectively, as economic and political entities. For example, it is understood that Australia lies in
the south but does not form part of the South.
case file
case law
caseload
Caucasus
Northern Caucasus and Southern Caucasus take initial capitals.
central and eastern Europe
Lower case; see cardinal points, above.
CETS/ETS
From 2004, the European Treaty Series (ETS Nos. 1 to 193) is continued by the Council of Europe
Treaty Series (CETS No. 194 and on). The Treaty Office internet site

Alphabetical listing  Page 27

 (www.coe.int/en/web/conventions) lists all treaties as “CETS” for technical reasons, but the historical
distinction should be maintained. Leave off initial zeros.
chapter
Do not abbreviate. Initial capital when followed by a number.
chair
Prefer “chair” to gender-specific titles such as “chairman” and the neutral “chairperson”.
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
EU charter, not to be confused with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Chechnya
Not Chechenya. Adjective: Chechen.
code
Upper case if part of a title. Prefer “Criminal Code” to “Penal Code”, which is a Gallicism. See act,
legislative, on page 23.
“communautarian”
Use inverted commas; no italics. EU speak, derived from the French communautaire.
Community
Accepted short form for “European Community”, providing the context is clear. Initial capital in
this case, lower case otherwise.
competence/competency
These are synonyms when referring to the ability to do something in general. “Competence”
designates the legal authority of a court or other body to intervene in a particular matter. Ensure
consistency.
compound words
See FAQ 9. Spelling – Hyphenation, on page 18.
conferences
The theme of a conference, seminar or symposium can be cited in inverted commas, in min. caps,
but never directly after the word “on”. Prefer “entitled” in such cases:
– “the conference was on invasive and alien fauna” or “the conference entitled ‘Invasive and alien
fauna’ took place in Tallinn”;
– but not “the conference on ‘Invasive and alien fauna’ was a success”.
See action plan, on page 24.
conflict of interest
Interest always singular. Plural: “conflicts of interest”.
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Short form: “the Congress”. Former name: “Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe”
(14 October 2003).
constitution
Lower case except when used with the name of a given country (e.g. “the Lithuanian Constitution”
or “the Constitution of Lithuania”) or in a full title of a given document.
contracting states/parties
Initial capitals only when used within the text of conventions or with the title of a convention
(e.g. “Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights”); lower case elsewhere.

Page 28  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

convention
Initial capital only if part of a full title; lower-case in most circumstances. Two exceptions exist: “the
Convention” as the short form of “the European Convention on Human Rights”, and within the
text of a convention which is referring to itself.
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
This is the full title for the European Convention on Human Rights, but the short form is more
widely used. Both are accepted in Council of Europe publications, but consistency is important.
co-operate/co-operation
Hyphenate.
co-ordinate/co-ordinating
Hyphenate.
co-rapporteur
Hyphenate.
coronavirus
Côte d’Ivoire
Prefer this name, the official name of the country as registered with the United Nations; not “Ivory
Coast”.
Council of Europe
Never shorten to “the Council” or “CoE”. The “Organisation” is a common variant in certain
contexts.
counter-terrorism
Hyphenate.
country names
The Council of Europe uses the official names of countries as registered with the United Nations.
A list of UN member states is available here: www.un.org/en/member-states/index.html.
court
When the title of a court is in a foreign language, do not attempt to translate it, because specific
legal concepts linked to the name may not be carried over; at first mention it may be useful to
provide a “descriptive” translation, however.
Lower case for “court of appeal”, “appellate court”, etc. The following in upper case:
– European Court of Human Rights (can be shortened to “the Court” or “the European Court”,
never “ECHR” or “ECtHR”);
– Supreme Court;
– Constitutional Court;
– Court of Cassation;
– Court of Justice of the European Union (Luxembourg) – short form “the Court of Justice”; for-
merly the Court of Justice of the European Communities;
– International Criminal Court (set up by the Rome Statute, situated in The Hague);
– International Court of Justice (The Hague).
court cases
Cite European Court of Human Rights cases with the following minimum information:
Pierre v. France, Application No. 55555/05, judgment/decision of 1 May 2009.
Use the definite article before “United Kingdom” and “Netherlands”. Initial capital on “Others”, e.g.
Smith and Others v. the Netherlands. See also FAQ 10. Text formatting, on page 19.
Covid-19

Alphabetical listing  Page 29

Crimea
Not “the Crimea”.
currencies
Currency names do not take initial capitals. They are normally written out in full, except for euros
(€), UK pounds (£), US dollars (US$) and Japanese yen (¥), where the symbols may be used if no
confusion is likely. The symbols are placed before the figure, with no space: €64, £500, US$25,
¥15 600.
Otherwise use the full name once, followed by the ISO 4217
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217) currency code in brackets (e.g. “100 Turkish lira (TRY)”);
thereafter, use the ISO code before the number with a non-breaking space between them (e.g.
“TRY 100”).
cyber
This prefix almost never takes a hyphen in compound words (e.g. “cybercrime”, “cyberbullying”,
etc.)
Cyrillic names
The transliteration of Cyrillic names and words in general is different in English and French
(e.g. Putin/Poutine). Beware of accepting the French spelling of Cyrillic names. Follow BBC usage.

cryptocurrency
One word, no hyphen.

D
Daesh
Avoid “Islamic State”, which implies some degree of legitimacy through statehood, unless as the
“so-called ‘Islamic State’” or when introducing alternate names. Same for abbreviations such as
ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), which both
imply statehood.
dashes
See FAQ 8.6. Dashes, on page 17.
data
Treat as plural.
dates and time
Dates: in full: “Wednesday 28 November 2018” (no comma after day of the week or before the
year, use numerals, not ordinals). Without the day: “28 November 2018”.
Consecutive dates should be linked with “to” (“The conference took place from 11 to 15 April
2016”), or “and” if only two days are involved. If the date is added in parentheses a hyphen may
be used: “The Helsinki Summit (2-8 June 1989)”. Do not use numbers for months, to avoid
confusion between the European and US conventions.
For spans of years, do not repeat more than the last two digits: “During the period 1990-95 …”,
unless spanning more than one century (1993-2003). Always use “and” with “between”, and “to”
with “from” (e.g. “between 1999 and 2003”, not “between 1999-2003”; “from 1999 to 2003”, not
“from 1999-2003”).
Note that “1990-91” is not the same as “1990/91”. The former denotes a span of time over two
calendar years, whereas the latter denotes a one-year period (a financial year, an academic year,
etc.).

Page 30  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 For decades, insert an “s” after the year in figures, without an apostrophe (e.g. “the 1960s”).
For centuries, use figures, not words: “the 20th century”. In attributive (adjectival) use, a hyphen
should be inserted: “20th-century art”. Note that Roman numerals are used in French.
Time: use the 12-hour system plus “a.m.” (ante meridiem) or “p.m.” (post meridiem). Note the space
before a.m./p.m. and the full stops. Initial zeros are unnecessary (and unsightly). Conventionally,
12 p.m. is noon. Midnight is understood as the beginning of the new day (corresponding to 00:00
in the 24-hour system), but clarify by specifying the date. A colon separates hours and minutes:
8:30 a.m. See also a.m., on page 25.
decimal points
The decimal is indicated by a point/full stop in English; replace any decimal commas (French
usage).
decision maker/making
No hyphen unless used as a modifier (e.g. “decision-making process”). See also FAQ 9.1.1. When
to hyphenate, on page 18.
declaration
Initial capital when using the full name or the number (e.g. “Declaration on Intercultural Dialogue
and Conflict Prevention”, “Declaration No. 59”). Cf. final declaration, on page 34.
degree
For temperatures, specify Celsius or Fahrenheit: 0°C = 32°F. Use the degree sign (ALT+0176) rather
than a superscript letter or number. See also FAQ 7. Numbers, figures, numerals – Degrees, on page
16.
département
A French administrative zone within a region. There is no exact English equivalent, so leave in
French and italicise.
develop ≠ write, draft, create or set up
Unlike “développer” (in French), the English verb “to develop” (“grow or cause to grow and become
more mature, advanced, or elaborate”) cannot be used to mean to write, draft, draw up, devise,
prepare, compile, set up or create. Prefer one of the terms in italics. See elaborate, on page 32.
D’Hondt method
Method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. Capital “D”. After Victor
D’Hondt.
diaspora
The spread or dispersion of any people from their homeland; the people who have spread or
dispersed from their homeland. “The Diaspora” refers specifically to the spread of the Jewish
people.
digitise
Prefer to “digitalise”.
disabled
Prefer “people with disabilities”.
disc
Spell with “c”. “Disk” is American spelling.
displayed quotes/extracts
Quotes of three lines or more should be displayed: indent paragraph, font size reduced by 1 or 2
pts, no quotation marks, text in roman. Provide source.

Alphabetical listing  Page 31

document
Normally lower case, but the working documents of the Assembly, when the number is quoted,
take a capital (Document 13221). See also final declaration, on page 34.
draft titles
Draft versions (not yet adopted) of official texts do not take initial capitals in their titles.
Duma
Lower chamber of the Russian legislative assembly. No italics.

E
east(ern)
See cardinal points, on page 27.
e.g.
Comma before, not after. Prefer “, for example” unless space is an issue, as in this style guide.
elaborate ≠ write or draft
Unlike “élaborer” (in French), the English verb “to elaborate” cannot be used to mean “to initially
draft”. It means to develop or present (a theory, policy, system, etc.) in further detail. Prefer one of
the following, as appropriate: to write, draft, draw up, devise, prepare, compile, etc. See develop, on
page 31.
e-mail
Hyphenate; capitalise at the beginning of a sentence, but not in a list. Do not shorten to “mail”.
embassy
Initial capitals if full name specified: “U.S. embassy” but “Embassy of the United States of America”.
empire
Capitals for “British Empire”, “Ottoman Empire”, “Roman Empire” and other historically attested
empires; lower case for less official usages: the “Soviet empire”.
etc.
Used at the end of a list (at least two items) to indicate that further, similar items are also included.
The reader should therefore be able to infer other items based on the common traits of those
presented. Prefer “etc.” to suspension points (see FAQ 8.3. Ellipses, on page 17).
Takes a comma before, a full stop after. “Etc” is followed by only one full stop if it comes at the
end of a sentence; leave full stop if followed by any other punctuation. A list that ends with “etc.”
should not begin with “for example” or “such as”.
ETS
See CETS/ETS, on page 27.
euro
No initial capital. Plural “euros”. Symbol “€” (ALT+0128) with no space before the figure if the figure
is quoted. Prefer “€” to “EUR” (ISO practice), but this is acceptable if consistent.
Nineteen countries have adopted the euro as their official currency at time of printing: Austria,
Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
euro area
Denotes the group of countries having adopted the euro as their official currency, avoid
“euroland”.

Page 32  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

euroregions
Lower case unless referring to a specific, established region (e.g. Adriatic Euroregion).
eurodistrict
Lower-case “e”.
European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity
Otherwise known as the North-South Centre (based in Lisbon).
European Commission for Democracy through Law
Otherwise known as the Venice Commission.
European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Pun-
ishment
Short form: European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. CPT refers to the European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, not
the convention.
European Convention on Human Rights
This is the short title of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms. It is more commonly used than the long title. Both are accepted in Council of Europe
publications but consistency is important. The only accepted short form is “the Convention”; do
not use ECHR.
European flag
The European flag was devised by the Council of Europe, but is also used by the European Union.
Colours for printing are Pantone Reflex Blue and Pantone Yellow 2C.
European Social Charter
Short forms: “Social Charter” and “Charter” with capitals, to be used in context. Opened for
signature in 1961. The European Social Charter (revised) was adopted in 1996 and came into force
in 1999. Lower-case “r”. Also referred to as “the revised European Social Charter”.
European Youth Centre
Abbreviated to “the centre” or “the EYC”.
European Youth Foundation
Abbreviated to “EYF”.
explanatory memorandum/report
Apply the same rules for initial capitals on the terms “Contracting Party/State”, “Convention”,
“Party”, “Recommendation”, “State”, “State Party”, etc. as within the text with which they are
associated (see FAQ 4.1. Council of Europe style, on page 14). Although these reports are not
statutory texts, they exist only in relation to such a text, and should therefore follow the same rule
on this point.

F
fascism
Lower case in most usages.
federal parliament/federal government
Lower case, except when followed by “of” and a country name.
federation
Lower case, except when part of a country name (e.g. “Russian Federation”).

Alphabetical listing  Page 33

figures
For numbers, see FAQ 7. Numbers, figures, numerals, on page 15.
final declaration
A final declaration, concluding document or similar summing-up document is often adopted at
conferences. Phrases like the “Vienna Concluding Document”, “the Helsinki Declaration”, “the
Lisbon Final Declaration” are treated as titles and capitalised. See also declaration, on page 31.
First World
Initial capitals.
footnotes
See FAQ 5. Footnotes and endnotes, on page 14.
former
Lower case. When followed by a title, the title remains in upper case, e.g. “the former American
President Bill Clinton”.
fractions
Written out in full (one half, two thirds, etc.). Hyphenate only when used as an adverb or an
adjective (two-thirds full, one-quarter increase). When in a list of statistics, write in figures.
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
Short form: “Framework Convention”.

G
G4, G6, G7, G8, G20
Keep figures. No hyphen.
There are several “Groups of N”, each representing various numbers of states with common
characteristics and/or interests. The most common are dealt with below. While some have
longstanding official status, others seem to come and go.
G8 – Group of Eight
In full: “Group of 8 leading industrialised nations”. The G8 is a forum for the heads of government
of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of
America; in addition, the EU is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. The Russian
Federation has been a member since the Birmingham Summit in 1998.
“G8” can refer to the participating states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of
government. G8 ministers also meet throughout the year, such as the G7/G8 finance ministers
(who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers or G8 environment ministers.
G20 – Group of 20
The G20 represents 19 of the world’s largest economies plus the European Union, which are
strategically important and influential in the world economy (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and the European Union). It is a
forum for co-operation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial
system.
geographical names
Prefer the anglicised versions of place names. Exceptions are covered under individual words or
in Appendix 1, on page 49.

Page 34  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Geneva conventions
Use upper case Roman numerals to number the different conventions: Geneva Convention I,
Geneva Convention II, etc.
Germany
Until 3 October 1990: the Federal Republic of Germany (“West Germany”) and the German
Democratic Republic (“East Germany”). “Germany” is sufficient in most cases nowadays.
government
Lower case unless used with the name of one or more countries (e.g. “the British Government”,
“the Government of Britain” or “the British and Finnish Governments”). Treat as singular (e.g. “The
government is …”, not “The government are …”).
grass roots
Two words; hyphenate when used as a modifier (e.g. “at grass-roots level”).
Green Paper/White Paper
Initial capitals for Green Paper/White Paper, inverted commas for name of report in question.
Great Britain
England, Scotland and Wales. See United Kingdom, on page 45.
greater Europe
Lower-case “g”. Generally considered to cover the geographical area occupied by Council of Europe
member states, as opposed to Europe in the sense of the European Union. See pan-European, on
page 39.
guidelines
Titles of Council of Europe guidelines are in min. caps and do not take quotation marks (e.g.
Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice). Initial
capital only when full title is cited.
Gypsy
Adjective and noun (plural “Gypsies”). Prefer the term “Roma”. See Roma, on page 42.

H
handicapped
Prefer “people with disabilities”.
headline style
The practice of putting initial capitals on all important words in titles of works and headings, as
opposed to sentence style. The Council of Europe prefers sentence style. See min. caps, on page
38 and FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
head of state
Lower case.
healthcare
One word.
Holocaust, the
Initial cap when referring to the mass murder of Jews by the Nazi regime; lower case elsewhere
(e.g. “nuclear holocaust”).
hyphens
See FAQ 9. Spelling on page 18 and FAQ 8.6. Dashes, on page 17.

Alphabetical listing  Page 35

 I
inasmuch/insofar/insomuch
One word.
index
Normal plural is “indexes”. Use “indices” only in the scientific sense.
initials
See FAQ 2.1. Initials, on page 9.
inter
This prefix almost never takes a hyphen in compound words (e.g. “interinstitutional”, “interracial”,
“interreligious”). See interparliamentary, below.
internet
Treat as a common noun with a lower case initial instead of capital, to tally with common usage.
internet addresses
Do not underline hyperlinks. Delete “http://” or “https://” if followed by “www”. See FAQ 3.7.8.
Websites, on page 12, for bibliographical use, and FAQ 3.7.9. Shortening URLs, on page 13.
interparliamentary
No hyphen, except for Inter-Parliamentary Union.
intranet
When used as a common noun, no initial capital.
Iron Curtain
italics
See FAQ 10. Text formatting, on page 19.
Ivory Coast
Avoid. Use the official name of the country as registered with the United Nations (see Côte d’Ivoire,
on page 29).

J
Jagland, Thorbjørn
Secretary General of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019.
judgment
In-house use is without the “e” in all contexts.

K
Koran
Not Coran or Qur’an.
Kosovo
Prefer the use of “Kosovo” as an adjective in terms such as “Kosovo authorities” or “Kosovo
Albanian(s)”; avoid “Kosovan” or “Kosovar”.

Page 36  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 All occurrences of this term must bear an asterisk in official texts, publications and documents of
the Council of Europe. The first occurrence must be accompanied by the following disclaimer in a
footnote:
* All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this
text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Res-
olution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.
All subsequent occurrences bear only an asterisk.
Kyoto Protocol
Full title: Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC).

L
Land
Initial capital, italics. Plural Länder. One of the constituent states of the Federal Republic of
Germany. The “new Länder” are those born out of the former German Democratic Republic.
law
See act, legislative, on page 23.
long term/short term
Hyphenate only when used as modifier (e.g. “in the long term”, but “long-term unemployment”).

M
Macedonia
Region in the northern part of Greece. See North Macedonia, on page 38.
Maidan
Do not say “Maidan Square”, as this essentially means “Square Square”.
Mahmoud Abbas
Not Mahmud; also known as Abu Mazen; President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
measurement, units of
Prefer the full unit (e.g. 45 kilograms) in running text and use abbreviations only where space is
an issue (e.g. in tables or footnotes).
media (the)
The main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing and the internet) regarded
collectively. Treated as either singular or plural. “Freedom of the media”, “their demands were
publicised by the media”.
member state/State
Lower case in publications. Initial capital on “State” only in statutory documents, conventions and
treaties. See FAQ 4.2. State: initial capital or lower case?, on page 14.
microeconomic
No hyphen.
Middle East
No hyphen. Translated as Proche orient or Moyen orient in French.

Alphabetical listing  Page 37

min. caps
Also called “sentence style”. The practice of putting initial capitals on the first word and on proper
nouns only in titles of works and in headings. This is standard Council of Europe practice. See FAQ
4. Capitalisation, on page 13, and headline style, on page 35.
minister
Normally lower case, except when the full title (including country name) is given. A government
minister, the minister for culture; but the German Minister for Health, the Russian Foreign Minister,
etc.
In Council of Europe documents “the Ministers” (capital “M”) denotes the Committee of Ministers.
The minister for culture, for health, etc., but minister of the interior, minister of state, minister of
justice.
modalities
Often used to translate French modalités; prefer “procedures”, “arrangements” or “methods”.
Moldova, Republic of
Official designation is the “Republic of Moldova”, but it should appear under “m” in alphabetical
listings.
money laundering
Two words, no hyphen unless used as a modifier (e.g. “money-laundering activities”).
Monitoring Committee
Short name for the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and
Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe.
multi-/multi
Hyphenate where two vowels meet: multi-ethnic. No hyphen otherwise: multicultural; multilateral,
multimedia.

N
Nazi, Nazism
Capital “N”. National Socialism also takes initial capitals; neo-Nazi.
NEET(s)
Acronym of UK origin for “not in education, employment or training”; check word order closely.
Netherlands, the
Referred to in singular. Listed under “n” in alphabetical lists. Lower-case “t” except when at the
beginning of a sentence or in a vertical list. Adjective: “Dutch”.
newly independent states
No need for capitals. Prefer full title to NIS.
non-refoulement
Italics, hyphenate. French for not turning foreigners back at borders, not refusing entry onto the
national territory. Used particularly in connection with refugees and asylum seekers.
north(ern), north-east(ern), north-west(ern)
See cardinal points, on page 27.
North Macedonia
Full name Republic of North Macedonia. Formerly “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
(changed by Agreement of 17 June 2018, entered into force on 12 February 2019). Use the short
name in Council of Europe texts. See “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, on page 45.

Page 38  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 In Council of Europe reports and official or statutory texts published after 12 February 2019
referring to the state of affairs of or events in this country prior to the entry into force of the name-
changing agreement, the former name should be used with a footnote, as follows:
1. As of 12 February 2019, the official name of this country has changed to North Mace-
donia.
North-South Centre
In full, the European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity.
numerals
See FAQ 7. Numbers, figures, numerals, on page 15.

O
official titles
Official titles take initial capitals when the reference is specific and complete. Compare: the
president, the President of the French Republic; the mayor, the Mayor of Exeter. Abbreviations are
a notable exception (CEO). See FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13. If referring to people who no
longer hold an official title, their former title remains in upper case, e.g. “the former President of
the United States Bill Clinton”.
ombudsman/ombudswoman
No italics, and no initial capital. Plural ombudsmen/~women. The form ombudsperson(s) may be
used.
online
No hyphen.
organisation
Prefer British spelling with an “s”, but do not change in quotations or in names of organisations
spelt with a “z”. Capital “O” used when the Council of Europe is being referred to: “the
Organisation”.

P
PACE
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Prefer “the Assembly” in running text.
Palais de l’Europe
Headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. No italics in English. Short form: the Palais.
pan-European
Lower-case “p” except in titles such as Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy.
This adjective can be used to distinguish between the European Union area/member states and
the Council of Europe area/member states. See greater Europe, on page 35.
paragraph
Lower-case “p”, even when number is cited. Avoid abbreviation “para.” unless space is an issue
(tables, charts, footnotes). Always put commas around paragraph number in expressions such as
“Article 10, paragraph 2, states …”
The Court often uses the section mark, “§”, for paragraphs when referring to the Convention
(e.g. “Article 10 § 2”) but also when referring to paragraphs of its judgments. Variants using a full
stop or parentheses are quite common (e.g. “Article 10.2/10(2)”).

Alphabetical listing  Page 39

 We recommend using the full-stop abbreviation when necessary, and to avoid the use of “§” or
parentheses, in order to save space and maintain coherency and simplicity.
parliament
Initial capital only in full names: the Lithuanian Parliament, the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
In certain contexts, where the word is used without an article, almost as a proper noun, a capital
should be used: “The Prime Minister announced that Parliament would be kept fully informed.”
The names of parliaments of different countries (e.g. the Sejm in Poland and the Duma in the
Russian Federation), take initial capitals and are written in roman.
Otherwise, lower case. See also government, on page 35.
partial agreement
Takes initial capitals only in a full title, e.g. Partial Agreement on the Prevention of, Protection
Against and Organisation of Relief in Major Natural and Technological Disasters (EUR-OPA Major
Hazards Agreement).
partner for democracy status
Lower case. Status granted to parliamentary delegations from non-member states by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
part-session
Hyphenate. The Parliamentary Assembly holds one session per year, divided into four part-
sessions (January, April, June and September).
party
Initial capital only when referring to the full name of a political party (e.g. Conservative Party,
Communist Party). See also FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13, and State Party, on page 44. “Party”
or “contracting party” are lower case, unless in a convention or other legal instrument, or with the
title of such an agreement (e.g. State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights).
peacekeeper/peacekeeping
One word.
Pejčinović Burić, Marija
Secretary General of the Council of Europe, elected in June 2019, term of office from September
2019.
percentage figures
Use symbol “%” (e.g. 4%). No space before. See FAQ 7. Numbers, figures, numerals, on page 15.
pharmacopoeia
No ligature for “oe”. Capital “P” for the European Pharmacopoeia.
policy maker/making
Two words; hyphenate only when used as a modifier: policy-making decisions.
politics
In the abstract, singular: “Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.” (Lester B. Pearson);
company/party politics are plural.
Pompidou Group
Short form of the Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs.
Pope, the
Initial capital when referring to the Bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church or when
the reference is specific (a title or followed by a name) in other cases.
population
Treat as singular.

Page 40  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

p.m.
post meridiem means “after noon”, i.e. after 12 o’clock midday. See also a.m., on page 25.
president
See official titles, on page 39. For the use of capitals, see FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
prince, princess
Upper case when full title is used (e.g. “Prince Edward”, “the Prince of Wales”); lower case for other
uses. See also FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
professor
Initial capital only when followed by a name.
programme
See action plan, on page 24. No inverted commas.
program/programme
In British English, “program” is used for computer software, “programme” otherwise.
progress report of the Bureau and Standing Committee
No initial capitals for progress report.
project
See action plan, on page 24. No inverted commas for project titles.
Prokuratura
Prosecutor’s Office in certain former Soviet bloc countries. Prefer this term, which conveys the
specificities of a different legal system, to a translation. Initial capital and italics.
punctuation
See FAQ 8. Punctuation, on page 16.

Q
quotations
See FAQ 8. Punctuation, on page 16, and displayed quotes/extracts, on page 31.

R
rapporteur
No initial capital unless followed by the committee title (e.g. “Rapporteur for the Committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights”). See co-rapporteur, on page 29.
recommendation
See adopted texts of Council of Europe organs and institutions, on page 24.
refoulement
Italics. French word used in English to refer to the act of turning foreigners back at borders, avoid
“pushback”. See non-refoulement, on page 38.
regard/regards
“With regard to” (not regards to). Not to be confused with “as regards”.
republic
Initial capital only when used as part of the name of a country (e.g. French Republic, Republic of
Moldova).

Alphabetical listing  Page 41

Republika Srpska
One of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (see Bosnia and Herzegovina, on page 27). Not
to be referred to as RS.
resolution
See adopted texts of Council of Europe organs and institutions, on page 24.
respect
Respect for (not of) human rights. A leader cannot gain the respect of his people without having
any respect for them.
regime
Roman type, no accent.
rights holder
Two words, no hyphen. “Rights” plural.
road map
Two words. No hyphen.
Roma
General term which refers to the three groups of Roma people: Roma, Sinti and Kale. Adjective
“Roma”, language “Romani”.
The following text should appear as a footnote at the first usage:
1. The term “Roma and Travellers” is used at the Council of Europe to encompass the
wide diversity of the groups covered by the work of the Council of Europe in this
field: on the one hand a) Roma, Sinti/Manush, Calé, Kaale, Romanichals, Bo-
yash/Rudari; b) Balkan Egyptians (Egyptians and Ashkali); c) Eastern groups (Dom,
Lom and Abdal); and, on the other hand, groups such as Travellers, Yenish, and the
populations designated under the administrative term “Gens du voyage”, as well as
persons who identify themselves as Gypsies. The present is an explanatory footnote,
not a definition of Roma and/or Travellers.
For further details, please see the latest version of the “Descriptive glossary of terms relating to
Roma issues” and document. SG/Inf(2015) 16 final. See also Travellers, on page 45.
roman
Lower case “r” when referring to a typeface (as opposed to italics), initial capital elsewhere. See
FAQ 10. Text formatting, on page 19.
Rome, Treaty of
The founding treaty of the EC (1957). Capitals; not Rome Treaty.
Russian Federation
The constituent entities of the Russian Federation should be known as “subjects of the Russian
Federation”.

S
Sami
Indigenous people of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland. Refers
to the language as well. “Lapp” may be considered derogatory.
Schengen Agreement
The term “Schengen Agreement” refers to two agreements concluded among European states in
1985 and 1990 on the abolition of physical borders and of systematic border controls. Schengen
is a small town in Luxembourg near where the agreements were signed.

Page 42  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Secretary General
The Council of Europe has two secretaries general – the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
and the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly (former title: the Clerk). Two capitals, no
hyphen. Hyphenate for the United Nations and OECD Secretaries-General. Plural “Secretaries
General”.
secretariat
Takes initial capital only when referring to the Council of Europe Secretariat and the Secretariat of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
section
See act, legislative, on page 23.
sectoral
“Relating to a distinct part or area”, derived from “sector”. Not “sectorial”: “of or like a sector”.
SEE
See South-East Europe, on page 44.
Serbia and Montenegro, the former State Union of
“Federal Republic of Yugoslavia” (28 April 1992 to 4 February 2003), reconstituted as the “State
Union of Serbia and Montenegro” (until 3 June 2006). Currently two sovereign states, both
member states.
seminar
The theme of a conference, seminar or symposium can be cited in inverted commas, in min. caps,
but never directly after the word “on”. Prefer “entitled” in such cases; see action plan, on page 24,
and conferences, on page 28.
senate
Initial capital when part of a title (e.g. “US Senate”, “French Senate”).
sentence style
See min. caps, on page 38.
session
No initial capital unless part of a title (e.g. “2002 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly”).
Sinn Fein
No accent, initial capitals (in Irish: Sinn Féin).
Sharia Law
Not “Sha’ria” Law.
Shiite
Adjective. Capital “s”, no apostrophe. Derived from the noun “Shia”, a branch of Islam.
Slovakia
Official full name is Slovak Republic, but “Slovakia” is also a recognised short form.
Slovenia
Official full name is Republic of Slovenia, but “Slovenia” is also a recognised short form.
socio-economic
Hyphenate.
south(ern), south-east(ern)/south-west(ern)
See cardinal points, on page 27.

Alphabetical listing  Page 43

South-East Europe
Short form: SEE. Various forms of the term exist across international institutions and their
programmes (e.g. hyphenated or not, South-East(ern)/Southeast(ern), etc.). Prefer the form above
within the Council of Europe. See cardinal points, on page 27.
Depending on the institutional framework, this name is used to describe the area comprising
some or all of the following entities or parts thereof: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia
and Turkey.
The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (no hyphen) was replaced in 2008 by the Regional
Cooperation Council (RCC).
spokesman/spokeswoman/spokesperson
spelling
See FAQ 9. Spelling, on page 18.
spine titles
In English publications, the spine title reads from top to bottom, the opposite in most other
languages. The publication’s title takes precedence over the publisher in all commercial
publications.

state
Lower case in general use. For exceptions, see FAQ 4.2. State: initial capital or lower case?, on page
14.
status quo
The existing state of affairs. Roman type. NB in French: “statu quo”, roman.
State Party
Plural “States Parties”. Initial capitals in the text of conventions and other legal instruments or
when used with the full title of a convention (e.g. “State Party to the European Convention on
Human Rights”). Lower case elsewhere. See FAQ 4. Capitalisation, on page 13.
sub
Hyphenate: sub-amendment, sub-branch, sub-clause, sub-committee, sub-edit, sub-heading,
sub-lease, sub-let, sub-paragraph, sub-standard.
Don’t hyphenate: subaltern, subcategory, subclass, subconscious, subcontract, subdivide,
subdivision, subgroup, subhuman, subkingdom, subnormal, subprime, subscript, subsection,
subsonic, subspace, subspecies, substratum, substructure, subterranean, subtotal, subway.
subscript
See FAQ 10.3. Superscript, subscript, on page 19.
Summit, 1st/2nd/3rd
The full title is 1st/2nd/3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe
(do not add “of the Member States”). “Vienna/Strasbourg/Warsaw Summit” or “1st/2nd/3rd
Summit” are acceptable short forms.
superscript
See FAQ 10.3. Superscript, subscript, on page 19.
symposium
The theme of a conference, seminar or symposium can be cited in inverted commas, in min. caps,
but never directly after the word “on”. Prefer “entitled” in such cases. See action plan, on page 24,
and conferences, on page 28.

Page 44  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

 T
Taliban
Not Taleban. Treat as plural.
telephone numbers
Keep telephone numbers as written in the country of origin as far as possible. For international
numbers, a “+” symbol precedes the country code, followed by a slash (“ / “), and a “(0)” generally
precedes the area code or the number to be dialled in the country: +33/(0)4 16 22 18 18.
temperature
See FAQ 7. Numbers, figures, numerals, on page 15.
“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”
See North Macedonia, on page 38. No longer in use as of 12 February 2019, unless in some
hypothetical historical context, in which case: in quotation marks; never abbreviate to “Macedonia”
or “FYROM”. See also Macedonia, on page 37.
Third World
Initial capitals. The expression is outdated, however, and should only be used in a historical
context. Alternatives abound, but none is universally accepted: “developing/developed world”,
“majority/minority world”, “the global south/north”, low-/middle-/high-income countries” and
“lean/fat world”. Each captures a unique aspect of reality and can be considered according to the
context.
time
See dates and time, on page 30.
titles (of jobs)
See official titles, on page 39.
transatlantic
No hyphen, no capital “a”.
Transcaucasia
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia.
transeuropean
No hyphen, no capital “e”.
Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova
North-east Moldova, between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border. The Slavic majority of
this region (Russian and Ukrainian) proclaimed the “Transnistrian Moldovan Republic”
(unrecognised, and therefore a term to be avoided), with Tiraspol as the “capital”.
Travellers
This term refers to an ethnically Irish nomadic people. They mostly live in Ireland and the United
Kingdom. This term is not a translation of “gens de voyage” and should not be used as an
alternative. See Roma, on page 42.
twofold
No hyphen.

U
United Kingdom
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. See Great Britain, on page 35.

Alphabetical listing  Page 45

United Nations
Initialism: “UN” (not “UNO”); can be used occasionally to avoid too much repetition.
units of measurement
See measurement, units of, on page 37.
USA, US
These initialisms can be used for variety where “United States of America” would be too long, or
to avoid repetition. “USA” should be used as a noun referring to the country; US can be used as
both noun and adjective, and in conjunction with the dollar sign to designate the currency of the
USA. See America(n), on page 25. “The States” is purely colloquial and should be avoided in Council
of Europe publications.

V
Van
In Dutch names: the correct practice in the Netherlands is lower-case “v”, but upper case if alone
or used with Mr, Ms or Mrs. In English we tend to use lower case unless it appears at the beginning
of a sentence or if there is a specific request.
Venice Commission
Short form of European Commission for Democracy through Law.
Vienna Summit
See Summit, 1st/2nd/3rd, on page 44.

W
war
Capitalise: First/Second World War (not World War I/II or WW I/II), Gulf War, Falklands War; also
Cold War (in keeping with Iron Curtain).
Warsaw Pact
web
Initial capital when referring to the World Wide Web (the internet), but “web page”.
website
One word.
well-being
Hyphenate.
west(ern)
See cardinal points, on page 27.
whistle-blower
Hyphenate, notwithstanding Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)7 on the protection of
whistleblowers.
White Paper
See Green Paper/White Paper, on page 35.
working group
Lower case unless part of a title.

Page 46  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

World Bank
Can be referred to as “the Bank”.
worldwide
No hyphen. One word, except in “World Wide Web” and World Wide Fund for Nature.

Y
Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: 1943-1991. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: 1992-2003,
composed of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. See also Serbia and Montenegro, on page
43.
Yugoslav Wars
A series of wars in the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that took
place between 1991 and 2001. Not “Balkan Wars” (see Balkan Wars, on page 26).

Alphabetical listing  Page 47

 Appendices
Appendix 1a: 47 member states of the Council of Europe
ISO codes Currency Parliament
State Language(s) Adjective(s) Capital city Other place names
Country/Currency and subunit (diacritics inexact)
lek/quindar
Albania ALB / ALL Albanian Albanian Tirana Kuvendi Popullor
(quindarka)
Andorra AND / EUR euro/cent Catalan Andorran Andorra la Vella Consell General de les Valls
Armenia ARM / AMD dram/luma Armenian Armenian Yerevan Azgayin Zhoghov
Austria* AUT / EUR euro/cent German Austrian Vienna Tyrol Bundesversammlung
Azerbaijan AZE / AZN manat/kepik Azerbaijani Azerbaijani Baku Nagorno-Karabakh Milli Mejlis
Belgium*
BEL / EUR euro/cent Dutch, French Belgian Brussels Antwerp, Bruges Senaat/Sénat

Constituent entities: Republika

Bosnian
Bosnia and convertible Bosnian, Srpska, Federation of Bosnia and
BIH / BAM Croatian Sarajevo Skupstina
Herzegovina mark/fening Herzegovinian Herzegovina.
Serbian
Mostar, Srebrenica
lev (leva)/
Bulgaria* BGR / BGN stotinka Bulgarian Bulgarian Sofia Krajina Narodno Sobranie
(stotinki)
Croatia* HRV / HRK kuna/lipa Croatian Croatian Zagreb Split, Zadar Sabor
Cyprus* CYP / EUR euro/cent Greek, Turkish Cypriot Nicosia Larnaca Vouli Antiprosopon
koruna
Czech Republic* CZE / CZK (koruny)/ Czech Czech Prague Parlament
halér (halére)
krone (kroner)/
Denmark* DNK / DKK Danish Danish Copenhagen Folketing
øre
Estonia* EST / EUR euro/cent Estonian Estonian Tallinn Riigikogu
 Page 49

Finland* FIN / EUR euro/cent Finnish Finnish Helsinki Åland Islands Eduskunta
France* FRA / EUR euro/cent French French Paris Lyons, Marseilles, Strasbourg Assemblée nationale
 ISO codes Currency Parliament
Page 50  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

State Language(s) Adjective(s) Capital city Other place names

Country/Currency and subunit (diacritics inexact)
Georgia GEO / GEL lari/tetri Georgian Georgian Tbilisi Mingrelia Umaghiesi Sabcho
Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg,
Germany* DEU / EUR euro/cent German German Berlin Frankfurt, Hanover, Baden Würt- Parlament
temberg
Greece* GRC / EUR euro/cent Greek Greek Athens Thessaloníki Vouli ton Ellinon
Hungary* HUN / HUF forint Hungarian Hungarian Budapest Országgyűlés
króna (krónur)/
Iceland ISL / ISK Icelandic Icelandic Reykjavik Althing
eyrir (aurar)
Ireland* IRL / EUR euro/cent Irish, English Irish Dublin Parliament or Oireachtas
Italy* ITA / EUR euro/cent Italian Italian Rome Genoa, Milan, Naples, Turin Parlamento
Latvia* LVA / EUR euro/cent Latvian Latvian Riga Saeima
Liechtenstein LIE / CHF franc/centime German of Liechtenstein Vaduz Landtag
Lithuania* LTU / EUR euro/cent Lithuanian Lithuanian Vilnius Seimas
Luxembourgish, Luxembourgish,
Luxembourg* LUX / EUR euro/cent Luxembourg Chambre des Députés
French, German of Luxembourg
Malta* MLT / EUR euro/cent Maltese, English Maltese Valetta
Republic of leu (pl. lei)/ban Tiraspol, Transnistria (region),
MDA / MDL Moldovan Moldovan Chişinău Parlamentul
Moldova (pl. bani) Dniester River
Monaco
Monaco MCO / EUR euro/cent French Monégasque Conseil National
Monte Carlo
Montenegro MNE / EUR euro/cent Montenegrin Montenegrin Podgorica
Netherlands* NLD / EUR euro/cent Dutch Dutch The Hague Amsterdam, Maastricht Staten Generaal
North
MKD / MKD denar/deni Macedonian Macedonian Skopje Sobranie
Macedonia
Norway NOR / NOK kroner Norwegian Norwegian Oslo Storting
Cracow
Poland* POL / PLN zloty Polish Polish Warsaw Sejm (lower chamber)
Wrocław
Portugal* PRT / EUR euro/cent Portuguese Portuguese Lisbon Assembleia da Republica
 ISO codes Currency Parliament
State Language(s) Adjective(s) Capital city Other place names
Country/Currency and subunit (diacritics inexact)
leu (pl. lei)/ban
Romania* ROU / RON Romanian Romanian Bucharest Timişoara Parlament
(pl. bani)
Russian St Petersburg, Grozny, Caucasus
RUS / RUB rouble/kopek Russian Russian Moscow Duma
Federation (Northern/Southern)
San Marino SMR / EUR euro/cent Italian San Marinese San Marino Consiglio Grande e Generale
Serbia SRB / RSD Serbian dinar Serbian Serbian Belgrade Vojvodina, Pristina
Slovak Narodna Rada Slovenskej Repub-
SVK / SKK koruna Slovakian Slovakian Bratislava
Republic* liky
Slovenia* SVN / EUR euro/cent Slovenian Slovenian Ljubljana Drzavni Zbor
Spanish, Catalan, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Basque
Spain* ESP / EUR euro/cent Spanish Madrid Las Cortes Generales
Basque, Galician Country, Catalonia
krona (pl.
Sweden* SWE / SEK Swedish Swedish Stockholm Gothenburg Riksdag
kronor)/öre
Federal Assembly
French,
Basel, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Bundesversammlung
Switzerland CHE / CHF franc/centime German, Swiss Bern
Zurich Assemblée Fédérale
Italian, Romansh
Assemblea Federale
Turkey TUR / TRY lira Turkish Turkish Ankara İzmir, Istanbul Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi
Ukraine UKR / UAH hryvnia Ukrainian Ukrainian Kyiv Chernobyl Verkhovna Rada
pound/penny
United Kingdom GBR / GBP English British London Parliament
(pl.: pence)

* indicates that the country is also a member state of the European Union.
Appendix 1  Page 51
Page 52  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Appendix 1b: other relevant states

ISO codes Currency
State Language(s) Adjective Capital city Other place names Parliament
Country/Currency and subunit
National Assembly (bicameral:
Belarus§ BLR / BYR rouble/kopek Belarusian Belarusian Minsk House of Representatives and
Senate)
Parliament (bicameral: House of
Canada*† CAN / CAD dollar/cent English, French Canadian Ottawa Montreal, Quebec, Toronto
Commons and Senate)
Vatican;
Holy See* VAT / EUR euro/cent Latin Vatican City – –
of the Vatican
Tel Aviv, Bey
Israel† ISR / ILS new Israeli shekel Hebrew Israeli Jerusalem West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Knesset (unicameral)
Heights
Kokkai or Diet (bicameral: Shugi-in
Japan* JPN / JPY yen Japanese Japanese Tokyo Kyoto (House of Representatives), Sangi-
in (House of Councillors))
Jordan,‡
Parliament (bicameral: Chamber of
Hashemite JOR / JOD dinar Arabic Jordanian Amman
Deputies and Senate)
Kingdom of
Supreme Council (bicameral: Leg-
Kyrgyzstan‡ KGZ / KGS som Kyrgyz, Russian Kyrgyz Bishkek islative Assembly, Assembly of
People’s Representatives)
National Congress (bicameral:
Mexico*† MEX / MXN peso Spanish Mexican Mexico City Cancún Federal Chamber of Deputies,
Senate)
Parliament (bicameral: House of
Morocco,‡
MAR / MAD dihram Arabic, Berber Morrocan Rabat Casablanca Representatives, House of Coun-
Kingdom of
cillors)
Palestine‡ PSE / – – Arabic Palestinian Jerusalem (East) Ramallah (administrative centre) National Council
United States of Congress (bicameral: House of
USA / USD dollar/cent English American Washington DC
America* Representatives, Senate)
 § The special guest status of the Belarus National Assembly was suspended on 13 January 1997.
* State observer to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
† National parliaments observers to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
‡ PACE partner for democracy.
Appendix 1  Page 53
Appendix 2: common acronyms and initialisms
Aids Initial capital only
ALDE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (PACE political group, formerly Liberal, Democratic
and Reformers Group – LDR, below)
ALECSO Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization
Althea EU-Althea military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation
of the Dayton Agreement
AML/CFT Anti-money laundering/Countering the financing of terrorism
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
BRIC BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China, the four largest economies of the developing world
CAHDI Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law
Cahmin Ad hoc Committee for the Protection of National Minorities (set up by the Vienna Summit)
Cahteh Ad hoc Committee on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CCET Centre for Co-operation with Economies in Transition
CDCC Council for Cultural Co-operation. In French: Conseil de la coopération culturelle
CD-Rom Compact Disc – Read only memory (cannot be written to)
CE/BCE Common Era, Before Common Era, sometimes used as a politically correct alternative to BC and
AD
CEB Council of Europe Development Bank (formerly Social Development Fund)
CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – UN convention
(1979)
CEFTA Central European Free Trade Agreement
CEI Central European Initiative
CEMAT Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Spatial/Regional Planning
CEPEJ European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice
CETS Council of Europe Treaty Series (CETS No. 194 and following). See CETS/ETS, on page 27
CFSP Common Foreign and Security Policy
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States. Member states are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakh-
stan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan is an
associate member state.
CLRAE This abbreviation for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe was
dropped in a Bureau decision on 14 October 2003. Now abbreviated to “the Congress”.
CODEXTER Committee of Experts on Terrorism, replaced the Multidisciplinary Group on International Action
Against Terrorism (GMT) in 2003
CoE Do not abbreviate “Council of Europe” to “the Council” or to “CoE”. Prefer “the Organisation”.
Comecon Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Lower case, initial capitals
COP Abbreviation to denote “Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change”, usually followed by a number (most recent in Paris, 2015: COP21)
CPT European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Pun-
ishment. Not to be used when referring to the Convention for the Prevention of Torture
CSCM Conference on Security and Co-operation in the Mediterranean
DTP Desktop publishing. Computer-based typesetting systems or software offering many of the func-
tions of professional phototypesetting systems. French: “PAO” – publication assistée par
ordinateur
EAR European Agency for Reconstruction
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Capital B for Bank when used alone, but be
careful to avoid confusion with the World Bank.
EC See EU, below

 Page 55
 ECHR Avoid use of this abbreviation for both the “European Convention on Human Rights” and the “Eu-
ropean Court of Human Rights”. For the latter, prefer “the Court” or “the European Court”, and
prefer “the Convention” for the former. See court, on page 29, and next entry. It is sometimes
used in bibliographies when referring to a volume of the European Court of Human Rights publi-
cation of judgments and reports – e.g. ECHR 2000-X, which may be left if usage is clear and
consistent.
ECtHR This abbreviation for the European Court of Human Rights is found in some literature but has no
standing with the Court itself. Prefer a full reference followed by “the Court” or “the European
Court”.
ECRI European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
ecu European currency unit (superseded by the euro.) Lower case, plural “ecus”
ECDC European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
EDG European Democrat Group (political group in the PACE). NOT “Democratic”
EDQM European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare
EEA European Economic Area (not Space)
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EMS European Monetary System
EMU Economic Monetary Union
ENSREG European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group
EPO European Patent Organisation. Secretariat called the European Patent Office. The abbreviations
“EPOrg” and “EPOff” are sometimes used to avoid confusion
EPP/CD Group of the European People’s Party (political group in the PACE)
ERM Exchange Rate Mechanism
ESDA European Security and Defence Assembly (formerly the Assembly of the WEU)
ESDP European Security and Defence Policy
ETS See CETS/ETS, on page 27
EU European Union. Since 1 November 1993; formerly the European Community. Should be referred
to in full the first time it is mentioned. “EU” or “the Union” may be used for variety thereafter, ex-
cept in very formal contexts. See also FAQ 2.2. Acronyms and initialisms, on page 9
EUFOR EU-NATO force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Took over from Sfor on 2 December 2004
EUR-OPA Open Partial Agreement on the Prevention of, Protection Against, and Organisation of Relief in
Major Natural and Technological Disasters (known as the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement)
EUREKA Pan-European research and development funding and co-ordination organisation (abbreviated as
“E!”)
Eurimages European Support Fund for the Co-production and Distribution of Creative Cinematographic and
Audiovisual Works
Europol European Police Office. European Union law-enforcement organisation that handles criminal in-
telligence
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, set up in Rome in 1945
FCNM Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities; short form: the Framework Con-
vention
Frontex European Border and Coast Guard Agency (formerly the European Agency for the Management
of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union)
FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – see Yugoslavia, on page 47
GRECO Group of States against Corruption
GRETA Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
GREVIO Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus. All capitals. See also “Aids”, above
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency
IATA International Air Transport Association
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (part of the World Bank Group)
ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

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ICC International Criminal Court, in The Hague. Set up by the Rome Statute 1 July 2002
ICPO The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL
–INTER-
POL
ICT information and communication technology. Plural ICTs.
ICTY International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in The Hague
IDA International Development Association
IDPs Internally displaced persons
Ifad International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFC International Finance Corporation
Ifor The Multinational Military Implementation Force
IGO International Governmental Agency
IID International Institute for Democracy
IIDH International Institute for Human Rights
ILO International Labour Organization (Secretariat of the ILO is the International Labour Office (not
abbreviated) – be wary of confusing the two)
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMO International Maritime Organization
IMS International Monetary System
INGO International non-governmental organisation
Instraw International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
INTERPOL See ICPO–INTERPOL, above
IOF International Organisation of the Francophonie
IOM International Organization for Migration
IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union
IRA Irish Republican Army
ISBN International Standard Book Number. All the Council of Europe’s commercial publications have
one. ISBNs have 13 digits in five groups and are usually printed with separators, either with
dashes: 978-92-871-1981-3 (the style preferred in-house); or spaces: 0 226 10390 0. The ISBN
should appear on the imprint page together with copyright information and country of printing,
and on the back cover
ISESCO Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ISSN International Standard Serial Number: an eight-digit number which identifies periodical publica-
tions as such, including electronic serials
ITU International Telecommunication Union
Kfor Kosovo Force, NATO-led international security force. Not to be confused with Sfor
LDR Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group. Former political group in the PACE; see ALDE, above
LGBT Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender. Variations include LGBTI (intersex), LGBTQ (queer or question-
ing) and LGBTA (asexual), or combinations of these and more.
MAI Multilateral Agreement on Investment
MONEY- Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing
VAL of Terrorism
MSF Médecins sans frontières. No italics; initial capital on Médecins only. Informally referred to as “the
French doctors”. Do not confuse with Médecins du monde
NACSE North Atlantic Conference on Security in Europe
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NEET(s) Abbreviation describing a person not in education, employment or training, in that order.
NGO Non-governmental organisation; plural NGOs
NICTs New information and communication technologies
OAS Organization of American States

Appendix 2 Page 57
 ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – usually associated with OSCE
(OSCE/ODIHR)
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
OIC Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference)
OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
PFP Partnership for Peace. NATO defence co-operation programme
Phare Pro- Initial capitals only. One of three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union.
gramme Originally: “Poland and Hungary: Assistance for Restructuring their Economies”. “Phare” is French
for lighthouse
PISG Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (Kosovo). Takes initial capitals
PKK Kurdistan Workers' Party
RCC Regional Cooperation Council. Replaced the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe in 2008
Sars Severe acute respiratory syndrome
SEE South-East Europe
SEEMO South East Europe Media Organisation (based in Vienna)
Sfor Stabilization Force; NATO-led international stabilisation force in Bosnia and Herzegovina; re-
placed by Eufor on 2 December 2004. Not to be confused with Kfor
SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises

SOC Socialist Group (political group in the PACE)

SOGI sexual orientation and gender identity
SRSG The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees
TACIS Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States. A foreign and technical assistance
programme implemented by the European Commission to help members of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (and Mongolia), in their transition to democratic market-oriented econo-
mies
TRNC Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey
UEL Unified European Left (political group in the PACE)
UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
UNCHS United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDOF United Nations Disengagement Observer Force
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNDRO Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator
UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC known as COP 1, 2, etc.)
UNFICYP United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
UNFPA United Nations Fund for Population Activities
UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Fund
UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNIFIL United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research
UNMIK United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
UNMOGIP United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (abbreviated to Office on Drugs and Crime)

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Unprofor United Nations Protection Force
UNRISD United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
UNSO United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office
UNTSO United Nations Truce Supervision Organization
UNU United Nations University
UNV United Nations Volunteers
UPU Universal Postal Union
USSR Prefer Soviet Union, but USSR is allowed for variety
WADA World Anti-doping Agency
WCO World Customs Organization
WEU Western European Union – officially closed on 30 June 2011
WHA World Health Assembly – the governing body of WHO
WHO World Health Organization. To avoid confusion with the rock band, do not use the definite article
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
WTO World Trade Organization
WWF World Wide Fund for Nature (changed from “World Wildlife Fund” in 1986)

Appendix 2 Page 59
Appendix 3: commonly used foreign words, Latin-
isms and a few abbr.
Foreign words are usually italicised in English, but can be written in roman if they are very commonly
used. This appendix gives a short list of common examples, their meanings and whether or not they
should be italicised. For anything not in this list, refer first to the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors,
reference on page 7.

Word Meaning and use Typographical

indications
a contrario (Latin) “by or from contraries”, used of an argument based on Roman, two words
contrast.
a fortiori (Latin) “with a yet stronger reason than a conclusion previously Roman, two words
accepted”
a posteriori (Latin) “proceeding from experiences to the deduction of prob- Roman
able causes”
a priori (Latin) “based on deduction rather than observation” Roman
ad hoc (Latin) “for this purpose” Roman
avant-garde (French) “advanced guard”; avant-gardist, avant-gardism Roman, hyphenated
bona fide (Latin) “genuine, real” Roman
cf. Abbr. of confer (Latin) “compare with” Roman
de facto (Latin) “in actual fact” Italics
de jure (Latin) “rightfully, by right” Italics
e.g. Abbr. of exempli gratia (Latin) “for example” Comma before
Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
man
et al. Abbr. of et alii (Latin) “and others” Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
man
etc. Abbr. of et cetera (Latin) “and other things” Roman, comma before.
Avoid “&c.”. See etc., on page
32
ex ante (Latin) “based on forecasts rather than actual results” Italics
exequatur (Latin) “official recognition of a foreign state’s representative” Roman
ex officio (Latin) “by virtue of one’s status or position” Italics
ex parte (Latin) “in the interests of one party only” Italics
ex post factum (Latin) “after the fact” Italics
ff. “folios”, “following pages”; prefer to et seq. Roman
forum non con- (Latin) “forum not agreeing”. Discretionary power that allows Italics
veniens courts to dismiss a case where another court is better suited to
hear the case
glasnost (Russian) “publicity”, “openness”. An official policy of the for- Roman, no initial capital
mer Soviet Union emphasising candour with regard to
discussion of social problems and shortcomings
habeas corpus A writ requiring a person to be brought before court; abbr. Roman
“hab. corp.”
i.e. Abbr. of id est (Latin) “that is”, “namely”. Prefer either of these Comma before
two unless space is a big concern Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
man

 Page 61
Word Meaning and use Typographical
indications
ibid. Abbr. of ibidem (Latin) “in the same source”. Used to avoid rep- Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
etition of a reference (strictly speaking only the title of a work, man
but the author’s name can be presumed) in bibliographic mat-
ter when citing more than one identical work in uninterrupted
succession. Prefer abbreviation
idem (Latin) “the same person”. Used to avoid repetition of an au- Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
thor’s name in bibliographic matter when citing more than one man
identical author in uninterrupted succession. Prefer the full
form to the abbreviation “id.”, which is less common
in camera not in open court Roman
in absentia (Latin) in his/her/their absence Italics
in re (Latin) in the legal case of; with regard to Italics
in situ (Latin) “in position” Italics
infra (Latin) “below”. Should be avoided in bibliographical matter for Italics
the same reasons as “op. cit.” and “supra”, below. English
equivalent is perfectly satisfactory in other situations
inter alia (Latin) “among other things” Italics, comma before
intra vires (Latin) “within one’s power” Italics
ipso facto (Latin) “by the very fact or act” Italics
ius/jus (Latin) “law” Italics. Spelling correct with
either “i” or “j”
jihad (Arabic) A Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels. Roman, lower case. Variant
A crusade or struggle spelling “jehad”
laissez-aller (French) “absence of restraint” Roman, hyphenated, not
“laisser”
laissez-faire (French) “let things take their own course” Roman, hyphenated, not
“laisser”
laissez-passer (French) “pass, permit”, not “laisser” Roman, hyphenated, not
“laisser”
loc. cit. Abbr. of loco citato (Latin) “in the cited place”. Used to avoid Full form: italics, abbr.: ro-
repeating a reference to a specific location in a work. This is of- man
ten misused and misunderstood, so should be avoided; the
indication is very specific, and therefore of limited use to the
reader in any case.
modus operandi (Latin) “way of doing something”, Roman
pl. modi operandi. Abbr. “MO”
mutatis mutan- (Latin) “making necessary alterations while not affecting the Italics
dis main point”
NB Abbr. of nota bene (Latin) “mark well” Roman, upper case, not fol-
lowed by any punctuation
oblast (Russian) An administrative territorial division within Russia and Italics. Ex: Kaliningrad oblast
other former Soviet republics, including Ukraine and Kyrgyz-
stan
op. cit. Abbr. of opere citato (Latin) “in the work quoted”. Used to avoid Roman
repeating a complete bibliographic reference, but should be
avoided as it gives no indication where the initial reference is
to be found. See FAQ 3. Bibliographies, on page 10, for more
details.
p., pp. Abbr. of “page”, plural “pp.” Roman

Page 62  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021

Word Meaning and use Typographical
indications
par excellence (French) “pre-eminently” Roman
per se (Latin) “intrinsically” Roman
perestroika (in the former USSR) reform of the economic and political sys- Roman
tem
post factum (Latin) “after the fact” Italics
prima facie (Latin) “from the first impression” Roman
procès-verbal (French) “written report of proceedings”; pl. “procès-verbaux” Italics, hyphenate
pro forma (Latin) “done as a matter of form” Roman, two words, no hy-
phen
quid pro quo (Latin) “something for something”; a favour or advantage in re- Roman, plural with “s” (~
turn quos)
raison d’être (French) “purpose” Italics
rapprochement (French) establishment of harmonious relations Roman
realpolitik (German) “politics based on realities and material needs, rather No capital, roman
than on morals or ideals”
res judicata (Latin) “having already decided” Roman
sensu stricto (Latin) “strictly speaking, in the narrow sense” Italics
NB the French say “stricto sensu”
sine qua non (Latin) “an indispensable condition”. Used as a noun Roman
supra (Latin) “above”. Essentially the same as “op. cit”, above, and Italics
should therefore be avoided in bibliographical matter. English
equivalent is perfectly satisfactory in other situations
ultra vires (Latin) “beyond one’s legal authority” Roman
versus (Latin) “against”; abbr. “v.” (prefer to “vs”) Roman
vice versa (Latin) “the order being reversed” Roman, no hyphen or accent
vis-à-vis (French) “in relation to” Roman
viz Contraction of videlicet (Latin), “namely”. No full stop. Prefer Roman, comma before
“namely”

Appendix 3 Page 63
Appendix 4: notes

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Appendix 4 Page 65
Page 66  Council of Europe English style guide – 2021
 COUNCIL OF EUROPE
ENGLISH
STYLE GUIDE

PREMS 030821
ENG

Better English and style,

2021
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading
human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member
states, including all members of the European
in print and online
Union. All Council of Europe member states have
www.coe.int signed up to the European Convention on Human
Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights,
democracy and the rule of law. The European Court
of Human Rights oversees the implementation
of the Convention in the member states.