The monitoring activity is realised through the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly. There are three distinct and inter-related procedures: monitoring as envisaged by the 1994 Declaration on compliance with commitments by member states; thematic monitoring, as developed through the 1995 procedures for the Declaration’s implementation; ad hoc monitoring. The Parliamentary Assembly instituted the first mechanism of the control. Monitoring procedures and assistance suppose the realization of cooperation, information and political dialog between members’ states relating to the basic principles of democracy and the political future of Europe. Within the Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs different monitoring bodies and procedures exist to ensure compliance with Council of Europe standards. Their purpose is to identify violations and shortcomings in member States’ law and practice. As a result of the monitoring bodies’ work, parliaments adopt new laws, courts develop case-law, internal procedures are improved and institutional capacity at State level is enhanced in order to prevent human rights violations and combat corruption and organized crime.