The Council of Europe is an an intergovernmental organization that is not affiliated with the European Union. This can be confusing because several EU bodies have names very similar to the Council of Europe. For example, the European Council and the Council of the European Union are two different EU bodies, with two different roles. But neither should be confused with the independent Council of Europe. Many other institutions in each organization have similar names.
Further confusing matters is the fact that all EU member states are members of the Council of Europe (along with many states that are not EU members), and the Council of Europe's flag is essentially an EU flag with an "e" superimposed over it. Moreover, the two organizations work together regularly. Indeed, confusion is so common that the Council of Europe has an entire web page devoted to distinguishing between the two organizations.
The Council of Europe is comprised of 47 member states, and was established to promote democracy, and to protect human rights and the rule of law in Europe. Several non-European states have observer status. The Council of Europe's main institutions are The European Court of Human Rights, a Secretary General, a Commissioner for Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Ministers, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. More information about those institutions can be found here. The HUDOC database provides access to case law from the European Court of Human Rights.
