This article presents the historical, organizational, and bibliographic information needed to research the Council of Europe�s regulation of human rights. It begins with an explanation of the reasons for the organization�s founding and then describes its statute, its structure, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the history of the changes in the treaty�s procedures, and its enforcement mechanisms. The final section provides similar treatment for another, less well known, of the Council�s human rights treaties, the European Social Charter.