On 14 October 2024, solicitors, barristers and judges in Ireland attended the launch of the Council of Europe HELP course on Interplay between the ECHR, the European Social Charter and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
The event was held at the premises of the Law Society of Ireland, in Dublin. It was organised by the Council of Europe in the framework of the EU-CoE Project “HELP in the EU III” (funded under the European Union’s Justice Programme (2021-2027)).
The launch began with introductory remarks from Ross McMahon, Chair of the EU & International Affairs Committee of the Law Society of Ireland. He welcomed the participants, talked about the contribution of HELP courses to the training of legal professionals in Ireland. The keynote speech was given by Johan Callewaert, Deputy Grand Chamber Registrar at the European Court of Human Rights; he talked about the ECHR including minimum standards and the implications of Article 53 of the ECHR and about the Bosphorus presumption and the implications of the recent M.B. v. the Netherlands (2024) case. He also explained how EU law and the ECHR operate as sources of mutual inspiration and examined specific case law from both the Strasbourg and the Luxembourg Court; he touched upon their approach on matters such as freedom of religion and ritual slaughter and the execution of European arrest warrants.
Colin Smith, Barrister (Senior Counsel) and Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Law (Trinity College) considered lessons on admissibility from Irish cases at the European Court of Human Rights. He looked at matters related to victim status, the exhaustion of domestic remedies, time limits and subject matters, sharing his experience and thoughts with the attending practitioners. He was followed by Roisin Costello, Barrister and Assistant Professor, School of Law (Trinity College), who examined data protection as developed in the framework of the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. She looked at the history of the concept of private life and discussed cases such as Rotaru v. Romania (2000) and L.B. v. Hungary [GC] (2023).
David Fennelly, Barrister (Senior Counsel) and Assistant Professor, School of Law (Trinity College) concluded the sessions on content with an intervention focusing on the use of the ECHR and of the EU Charter in the practice of EU law. He looked at the framework of fundamental rights as perceived by a potential Irish practitioner, who will have to take into consideration different instruments stemming from different actors. He also looked at the lifecycle of a preliminary reference before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
During the launch event, the participants also got acquainted with the HELP programme and its e-learning platform, which offers over 50 online courses on human rights. Furthermore, the group met its HELP tutors, Eva Massa, international consultant and lawyer qualified in Ireland and Spain and Deirdre O’Gara, Advisory Council at the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. They talked to the participants about their background and interests and presented some insights into the matters to be approached during the course.
The tutors 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, will be awarded to those who successfully complete the course.
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The HELP course on Interplay between the ECHR, the ESC 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. It can be followed in English, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian and Spanish, with other translations being 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-in-ireland
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Publish date : 2024-10-14 07:00:00
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