On 17 and 18 June 2024 over 70 judges and prosecutors from Lithuania and Romania attended two separate launch seminars, organised for their respective countries, of the Council of Europe HELP course on Introduction to Human Rights Protection in Europe – the Interplay between the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The launch seminars were organised in the framework of the EU-CoE Project “HELP in the EU III” (funded under the European Union’s Justice Programme (2021-2027)), in cooperation with the National Institute of the Magistracy from Romania and the National Judicial Administration Training Center from Lithuania.
The launch seminar for Romanian judges and prosecutors took place in Bucharest, Romania, on 17 June 2024. The event started with an welcome address given by Amelia Onişor, Deputy Director of the National Institute of the Magistracy, who welcomed the Council of Europe to Bucharest and underlined the relevance of the topic of the course in the Romanian context.
She also held a session related to practical aspects steaming from the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Romanian context. She addressed issues such as the cases when the EU Charter can be applied directly, the content of requests for preliminary rulings and the cases in which they can be rejected, as well as the role of the ECHR in dealing with such requests; participants had the possibility to intervene and ask questions.
Răzvan Horațiu Radu, former Government Agent before the European Court of Human Rights (2007-2011) and before the Court of Justice of the European Union (2011-2018), currently a prosecutor in Romania, discussed differences and similarities in appearing and arguing before the two European courts, providing examples of particular situations and case-law and looking at challenges and opportunities.
Adriana Dăgăliță, Lawyer at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, argued that EU law and the ECHR operate as sources of mutual inspiration and examined specific case law from both the Strasbourg and the Luxembourg Court; she touched upon cases such as Avotiņš v. Latvia,Spasov v. Romania, Relu Adrian Coman, C-673/16and Buhuceanu and Others v. Romania. She also informed the participants about relevant cases currently pending before the Strasbourg Court.
Raluca Bercea, co-author of the HELP course on Introduction to Human Rights Protection in Europe – the Interplay between the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, talked to the participants about how the course was developed and what it contains.
The day ended with a session led by Beatrice Ramașcanu, HELP tutor and trainer of the National Institute of the Magistracy, who talked about how the course was to be implemented online following the event.
The launch seminar for Lithuanian judges and prosecutors took place online. It started with a welcome address from Ervinas Baubinas, Chief Executive Officer at the National Judicial Administration Training Center, who emphasised the important role HELP courses play in the training of legal professionals.
He was followed by Danutė Jočienė, Judge of the Criminal Cases Division of the Supreme Court of Lithuania and Former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (2004-2013). She talked about the interplay between the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law, addressing issues such as the advisory opinion of the ECtHR and the preliminary ruling procedure before the Court of Justice of the European Union and requirements for the national courts in dealing with the preliminary requests from an Article 6 of the ECHR.
Marius Bartninkas, Chairman of the Kaunas regional court and HELP tutor, addressed the jurisprudence of the Luxembourg and the Strasbourg Courts in the Lithuanian context.
During both the launch seminar, the participants also got acquainted with the HELP programme and its e-learning platform, which offers over 50 courses on human rights topics.
Beatrice Ramascanu and Marius Bartninkas, the HELP tutors of the two groups, will provide will provide the participants with support and guidance during the following weeks. During the launch event, all participants have been registered on the dedicated course page and are now ready to start the tutored course. HELP certificates, issued by the Council of Europe, the National Institute of the Magistracy from Romania and the National Judicial Administration Training Center from Lithuania, will be awarded to those who successfully complete the course.
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The HELP course on Introduction to Human Rights Protection in Europe – the Interplay between the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights emphasizes that EU legal and justice professionals involved in protecting human rights need to understand the European setting in terms of standards and applicability of the two main systems in place, namely under the Council of Europe, with the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, and under the European Union, with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the relevant EU law.
The two European systems and their mechanisms have substantially evolved towards convergence and interplay and the two European Courts – the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) – are actively engaged in a judicial dialogue and draw inspiration from each other. Moreover, the future accession of the EU to the ECHR (currently under negotiation) will come as an accomplishment to the efforts carried over the years to ensuring a thorough and effective human rights protection system in Europe.
The course is primarily addressed at legal/justice professionals (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court staff), but could also be extremely beneficial to bailiffs, notaries, mediators, legal interpreters and translators, court experts etc. It can also be useful for the training of policymakers, national human rights institutions, as well as civil society organisations, university students, EU/CoE staff or anybody interested on the topic.
This HELP course was developed in 2023 under the EU-CoE HELP in the EU III Project (funded under the European Union’s Justice Programme (2021-2027)). The topics are explored in a practical way by using presentations, interactive screens, knowledge tests and reflective exercises, enabling the users to apply the gained knowledge and skills.
The course is available in self-learning format, which has a duration of 6 hours. While for now it can only be followed in English, Portuguese and Romanian, translation in several other EU languages is in progress. Upon completion, users can generate their electronic Statements of Accomplishment, in proof of their acquired knowledge and skills.
HELP courses are intended, in the long term, to become an integral part of the overall learning curricula of the national training institutions and/or other competent authorities of the CoE member states and beyond.
Source link : https://www.coe.int/en/web/help/-/eu-echr-interplay-council-of-europe-help-course-launched-for-judges-and-prosecutors-from-romania-and-lithuania
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Publish date : 2024-06-18 07:00:00
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