47 countries are meeting today to decide if the European Court of Human Rights has too much power

It comes as the deportation of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada is thrown into doubt after his lawyers lodged an appeal with the human rights judges.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke is hosting a conference of representatives of the member nations of the Council of Europe in Brighton.

The Government hopes to secure a deal on reforms that will see European human rights judges intervene less in British affairs.

The deal, called the Brighton Declaration, is expected to be signed at the two-day conference.

In January in a speech at the Council of Europe, Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that the Strasbourg-based court's work defending human freedom and dignity was being put "under threat" due to public unease over some of its decisions. Read More

Some of its decisions?..... Try Most of its decisions, if not all.