Înapoi Regional Project on Lawyers Concludes with the final Technical Committee meeting in Strasbourg

Regional Project on Lawyers Concludes with the final Technical Committee meeting in Strasbourg

The Joint European Union and the Council of Europe regional project on strengthening the profession of lawyer in line with European standards in the Eastern Partnership countries held its final event on 27 February 2023 both remotely and in person in Strasbourg, France.

The event which gathered representatives of the participating countries – Armenia, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, served as a forum to take stock of the achievements with focus on the work done in enhancing co-operation between the bar associations and law societies of the participating countries and improving the internal functioning and independence of the bar.

Over the course of the project, the Council of Europe worked closely with the Ministries of Justice, Bar Associations, Free legal aid institutions and professional unions of lawyers to promote better alignment of the national practices with the European standards on the legal profession.

In her opening remarks, Lilja Gretarsdottir, Head of Co-operation Programmes Division (DGI), emphasised the importance of extensive cross country-reviews which the project developed on vital topics such as the interaction of judges and lawyers in courts, internal structure of bar associations, procedural safeguards, and protection against undue interferences for lawyers, systems of legal representations, including free legal aid. Ms Gretarsdottir reiterated that the project greatly facilitated the interaction of the bars and professional associations of lawyers from participating countries through numerous regional events and activities.

During the conference, participants discussed the prospects of the new Council of Europe legal instrument[1] on the profession of lawyers, shared best practices, discussed challenges and opportunities, and highlighted the impact of the project.

During the closing remarks, Lilit Daneghian-Bossler, Deputy Head of the Co-operation Programmes Division (DGI), underlined that enhancing the capacity of the profession of lawyer will remain among the priorities of the Council of Europe and that the Organisation will explore ways of future co-operation on regional and national levels.

 

The project “Strengthening the profession of lawyer in line with European standards” is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe in their Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2022.
Strasbourg 27 February 2023
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Strasbourg, France Strasbourg, 1-2 July 2024
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Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of Equality Bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region

A two-day workshop on addressing hate speech and hate crime took place at the premises of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, involving Equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership regions.  The event supported by the EU and Council of Europe, gathered 50 representatives from both regions who discussed and exchanged on the best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy, raising awareness and supporting victims equality bodies play a fundamental role in protecting human rights and ensuring that all individuals are treated equally.

In her opening remarks, Angela Longo, Head of Anti-discrimination Co-operation Unit, Council of Europe, underlined the significant progress in engaging with Equality Bodies through this network, regularly exchanging best practices and addressing the challenges of hatred and intolerance in societies. She highlighted that this new chapter of discussion delves into the grey area between hate speech and hate crime, addressing issues of incitement and biases,

Representatives from Equality Bodies had the opportunity to discuss and enhance their knowledge on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers Recommendation to member States on combating hate crime, adopted on 7th May 2024, as well as gain a clearer understanding of EU standards in the field of hate crime. Moreover, participants engaged in exchanges with peers from the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia (OBERAXE), who shared insights on addressing hate speech in the public discourse. The National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) in Italy provided practical examples for developing counter-narratives and raising awareness initiatives.

They also explored opportunities to advocate for legislative reform, foster multisectoral co-operation, enhance data collection, and overall improve national mechanisms to counter hate crimes.

This seminar was organised within the action “Promoting equality and combating racism and intolerance in the Western Balkans” and the project “Promoting equality and non-discrimination: towards more resilient and inclusive societies” – co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe  under the joint Programmes “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and “Partnership for Good Governance”.

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