News
Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in AZERBAIJAN
PGG II supports legislative and institutional reforms and development of capacities to combat money-laundering, terrorism financing and recover the proceeds from crime in line with European standards.
5-7 October: high-level online event on midterm results of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance for Eastern Partnership countries
A welcome address by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and by Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement will be presented at 9:00 CEST on 5 October. It will be followed at 10:30 CEST on 5 October by a live session “Eastern Partnership:...
How do we work with the Georgian authorities to fight corruption and money laundering?
Corruption and money laundering are two crimes closely linked to each other and seriously affecting countries’ efforts to build a democratic society. In this video, we will tell you about the significant support to Georgia to prepare the country’s first-ever national anti-money laundering and...
How Covid-19 impacts women’s access to justice?
On 30 September 2020, the Council of Europe organised an informative meeting on the impact of Covid-19 on Women’s Access to Justice in the Eastern Partnership countries. The meeting is an activity of the EU and CoE joint programme PGGII regional project “Women access to justice: delivering on the...
Combating Discrimination in Eastern Partnership Region: expert talks and good practices presentations are now available online
The Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) programme, financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, launches a series of expert talks and good practices presentations on combating discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in Eastern...
Three Training of Trainers sessions organised in Armenia
Three-day training of trainers (ToT) on “Techniques for drafting judgments and decisions”, “Current issues of the cross-examination (confrontation)” and “Interviewing techniques and communications management” was organised in co-operation with the Justice Academy on 25-27 September in...
GEORGIA - The School of Justice Alumni Network – the way for opportunities for court staff and law school students
The School of Justice Alumni Network established in 2019 continues to be active even under the restrictions and the lockdown caused by COVID-19. The #Onlinetalks - thematic discussions in the field of justice, support of different initiatives, makes the platform even stronger.
Adjusted case management system of the Constitutional Court of GEORGIA
The case management system of the Constitutional Court of Georgia has been adjusted giving the possibility to Georgian citizens to get all relevant case-related information online thus ensuring access to justice even under the severe restrictions related to COVID-19.
Online needs’ assessment meetings for the EU-Council of Europe joint action ‘Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan’
The Programme for Good Governance II (PGGII) is a European Union and Council of Europe joint programme in the Eastern Partnership countries. The Council of Europe is currently implementing the joint action ‘Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in...
Road map on dissemination of CEPEJ efficiency and quality measurement tools in all courts of Azerbaijan
The European Union and the Council of Europe continue to work in partnership with the Republic of Azerbaijan to improve efficiency of the Azerbaijani judiciary. In this regard, the Council of Europe has developed a Road map on dissemination of CEPEJ efficiency and quality measurement tools in all...
Judges and prosecutors trained by international and national experts on anti-discrimination
EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance supports the National Institute of Justice in training judges and prosecutors on identifying and dealing with cases of hate speech and domestic violence. On 4 September, the judges and prosecutors trained by the National Institute of Justice took part in a...
The Equality Council is strengthening its monitoring function with support from the Council of Europe
The EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance supports the Moldovan Equality Council with the development of a monitoring strategy in line with European Standards. On the 2nd and 3rd of September, Moldovan Equality Council members took part in a 2-day online workshop to strengthen their skills and...
Trainers improving their skills on delivering formation on the investigation of hate crimes
EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance supports the National Institute of Justice in training the trainers on investigating crimes that are motivated by prejudice and bias. The trainers of the Moldovan National Institute of Justice received formation on understanding and defining hate crime,...
Discussing ways to improve the enforcement of court decisions in civil and administrative matters in the Republic of Moldova
On 13 August 2020 the Secretariat of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) moderated an on-line workshop in order to discuss the ways to further improve the enforcement of court decisions in civil and administrative matters in the Republic of Moldova and to define...
Steering the project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”
On 13 August 2020 was carried out the second meeting of the Steering Group of the project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova” ("CEPEJ Project"), which is part of the Partnership of the Council of Europe and the European...
Efforts are pursued to improve the efficiency of courts and the quality of judicial services in the Republic of Moldova
On 12 August 2020 a team of experts of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) met in a videoconference their colleagues from judicial administration of the Republic of Moldova to discuss new measures with a view to improving the efficiency of courts and the quality of...
Sharing the experience of judicial case-weighting in the Republic of Moldova with European partners
On 6 August 2020 the judicial case-weighting model in the Republic of Moldova was presented and discussed with Latvian counterparts. The event was moderated by the Secretariat of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) and took place in the format of a videoconference under...
Launch of training needs assessment for CEPEJ topics in Azerbaijan
The European Union and the Council of Europe continue to work in partnership with the Republic of Azerbaijan to improve efficiency of the Azerbaijani judiciary. Thus, in July the Council of Europe launched a training needs assessment for CEPEJ topics to identify training needs for different...
Moldovan Equality Council: A monitoring framework, strategy and process report
EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance supports the Moldovan Equality Council on strengthening its strategic approach towards monitoring. On August 5th, international consultant Niall Crowley presented the results of a review of the monitoring mechanisms and instruments of the Moldovan Equality...
Council of Europe tools on Women’s Access to Justice now available in new languages
Within the Partnership for Good Governance II, the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the regional project on Women's Access to Justice: delivering on the Istanbul Convention and other European gender equality standards in the Eastern Partnership countries has...
Webinar: The inclusion of disabled people and fighting discrimination
On 6 August, a webinar will be organised on “The inclusion of disabled people and fighting discrimination” between 3-5 pm CET. The webinar will be an opportunity to learn more about the situation of disabled people and their experiences of discrimination. Good practices will be shared on...
Azerbaijani Institutions increase their knowledge of the Warsaw Convention
26 representatives of law enforcement, judiciary, regulatory and other relevant government institutions came together for a training event on the “Application of the Warsaw Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and the Financing of Terrorism” which...
Intersectional discrimination – a practical training for the Equality Council
EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance supports the Moldovan Equality Council on addressing the principles of intersectionality in cases of discrimination. On the 23rd and 24th of July, the team of the Moldovan Equality Council participated in a 2-day online training on intersectional...
CALL FOR TENDER for the provision of national consultancy services in the areas of violence against women, domestic violence and gender equality in Azerbaijan
The Council of Europe is launching a call for the provision of national consultancy services in the areas of violence against women, domestic violence and gender equality in Azerbaijan within the framework of the EU/Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance II project “Raising awareness...
New PGGII project: Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan
A new PGGII project was launched in July 2020 in Azerbaijan, under the title “Raising awareness of the Istanbul Convention and other gender equality standards in Azerbaijan”. This is a joint action between European Union and the Council of Europe, and it will run until December 2021. This project...
Expert advice on “Access to courts for vulnerable groups”
CEPEJ is developing an expert advice to Azerbaijani judicial authorities on “Access to courts for vulnerable groups”. In this regard, online meetings have been organized in June with the Ministry of Justice, the Judicial Legal Council, the Justice Academy, the State Committee for Family, Women...
Communication strategy for the judiciary
The Council of Europe is preparing an expert advice to Azerbaijani judicial authorities on steps to disseminate CEPEJ tools on “Communication strategy for the judiciary”. Online meetings with the Ministry of Justice, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court...
Representatives of relevant government institutions of Azerbaijan enhance data analysis skills with Microsoft Power BI
A training on “Data analysis tools: Microsoft Power BI” took place via video conferencing from 13 to 17 July 2020, bringing together 12 representatives of the Financial Monitoring Service, Anti-Corruption General Directorate, General Prosecutor’s Office, Central Bank, State Tax Service under the...
Consultative meeting organized to discuss Azerbaijan’s draft anti-money laundering legislative framework
The Council of Europe produced a draft legal opinion containing an analysis of the anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism legislative base of the Republic of Azerbaijan and recommendations for its compliance and alignment with international standards and best practices. With...
Inter-ministerial webinars on measuring Women’s Access to Justice in the Eastern Partnership countries
“We need to normalize women’s access to justice, as these standards need to permeate not only gender related issues and institutions but the entire justice system and state apparatus” Shazia Choudhry, professor of law, Queen Mary University of London On 29 and 30 June 2020, the Council of...
Publication of the comparative review of the procedural and institutional setup of functioning of lawyers in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
In the framework of the PGG II project “Strengthening the legal profession in line with European standards”, a comparative review of the procedural and institutional setup of functioning of lawyers in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine was published. The comparative review is focused...
State of Emergency and Human Rights obligations : Georgian judges discuss most recent European practice and approach with the Venice Commission expert
COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the importance of scrutiny over derogations from fundamental rights and liberties. The scrutiny is primarily entrusted to the judicial powers, and several proceedings have already been initiated throughout Europe. Georgia is among the countries that has declared...
Venice Commission adopts opinions for Armenia and the Republic of Moldova
On 18 and 19 June 2020, the European Commission of Democracy through Law (the “Venice Commission”) has adopted two opinions prepared under the PGG Quick response Mechanism through a written procedure: The Republic of Moldova – Opinion on the Revised draft Law on amending and supplementing the...
Webinar series on combating discrimination to take place this summer
Five webinars will be organised between June and August on combating discrimination and working with victims. The aim of the webinars is to build attendees’ understanding of key discrimination areas and issue, and also share good practices from the Eastern Partnership region (Armenia, Azerbaijan,...
Call for tenders : design and layout services on access to justice in Eastern Partnership countries
The Council of Europe is launching a call for the provision of publication design and layout services on access to justice in Eastern Partnership countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) in the framework of PGG II regional project “Women’s Access to...
Latest edition of Partnership for Good Governance II is out
Do you want to learn more about PGG II projects and activities ? Then have a look at the latest edition of our newsletter ! We are talking about the COVID-19 crisis and its challenges, presenting about the launch of two new HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Profesionnals) courses (watch our...
President of Moldovan Equality Council speaks about cooperation in the field of anti-discrimination on the occasion of EU Days
”Our Equality Council yearly examines around 300 complaints and almost every complaint is a story of someone fighting for their rights.” Ian Feldman, President of the Moldovan Equality Council On May 22, in the context of the celebration of the EU days, President of the Moldovan Equality Council,...
Supporting the Constitutional Court of Georgia to further improve its Case Management System during COVID-19 crisis
With the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the Constitutional Court of Georgia continues to offer improved electronic litigation, allowing court users to navigate more easily and get all relevant case-related information. This initiative will refine communication between...
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) ensures participation of partner institutions of cooperation programs into SATURN working group meeting
On 18 May 2020, representatives of the partner institutions of the Judiciary of Georgia, Latvia, Slovak Republic attended the meeting of the SATURN working group on judicial timeframes of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice. The meeting focused on the project concerning the...
73 participants from Eastern Partnership countries to take the HELP course on Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia, Homophobia and Transphobia
Over 70 participants from equality bodies, Ombudsperson institutions, NGOs and public agencies from the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine) are engaging in a regional HELP course on fighting racism, xenophobia, homophobia and transphobia. The...
Call for Tenders for national consultants in the Republic of Moldova
The Council of Europe is launching calls for the provision of consultancy services in the fields of court management and enforcement of court decisions in civil and administrative matters in the Republic of Moldova, in the framework of the Partnership for Good Governance II 2019-2021 (PGG II)...
Upcoming activities for the PGG II project “Strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in Azerbaijan”
In the framework of the PG II project “Strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in Azerbaijan”, a system of enforcement timeframes and recovery rates will be set-up as indicators of the efficiency of the enforcement system and in view of evaluating bailiffs’ performance. To...
PGG and the Covid-19 crisis: The protection and promotion of European citizens rights is essential
While the COVID-19 situation is evolving fast and has developed into an unprecedented crisis in Europe and in the whole world, we need to stay united and to continue working together to protect and promote the rights and freedoms of European citizens. The Partnership for Good Governance (PGG)...
Call for tenders for the provision of local consultancy services in the area of access to justice and violence against women in Eastern Partnership countries
The Council of Europe is launching a call for the provision of consultancy services on access to justice and violence against women in Eastern Partnership countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) in the framework of the EU/Council of Europe Partnership...
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) concretely involved in the implementation of judicial reforms in Georgia
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) experts have started the evaluation of the administrative organisation of the Georgian courts and its non-judicial staff with a view to developing recommendations and guidelines concerning the evaluation of non-judicial staff. The...
Review of the criminal legislation launched in Georgia
Active efforts were undertaken to bring criminal procedure legislation in Georgia closer to the ECHR standards in the framework of PGG II Project “Supporting the criminal justice reforms - tackling criminal aspects of the judicial reforms in Georgia”. Following the results of high-level event...
Judges in Georgia to follow the second HELP course launched in the country: Reasoning of Criminal Judgments in Georgia
In cooperation with the High School of Justice of Georgia, the Council of Europe HELP course Reasoning of Criminal Judgements is launched for a second time and will be implemented for a period of seven weeks in Georgian under this European Union-Council of Europe action. This HELP course is...
Launch of HELP course on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters in Georgia
The Council of Europe HELP online course International Cooperation in Criminal Matters was launched for the first time in Georgia for a range of legal professionals. Mr Cristian Urse, Head of Office, Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Mr Gocha lordkipanidze, Deputy of Minister of Justice, Ms...
Council of Europe provides expert opinion on Azerbaijan’s legislation applicable to implementation of targeted financial sanctions
Council of Europe provided a legal opinion to the Financial Intelligence Unit of Azerbaijan, upon its request, on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing legislation. The analysis and recommendations of the opinion are intended to support the competent authorities in improving the...
PGG project cooperates with Ukraine authorities to enhance anti-money laundering measures
Many economic crimes involve misuse of corporate entities to hide origins of illicit gains. Increasing transparency around ultimate beneficial owners of corporate entities and understanding their potential money laundering and terrorist financing risks help countries to mitigate such misuse....
Venice Commission adopted opinions for Armenia and the Republic of Moldova
Following the spread of the COVID-19 virus to northern Italy, the Enlarged Bureau of the Venice Commission had decided not to hold the scheduled 20-21 March plenary session in Venice. Instead, only some opinions of those on the agenda have been adopted by written procedure. The preparation of two...
Results of a public survey on the perception of discrimination in Belarus
A new report on the perception of discrimination in Belarus has been published. The Anti-discrimination Department of the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the National Centre of Legislation and Legal research of the Republic of Belarus, initiated in autumn 2019 a public survey to assess...
Training of Trainers (ToT) organised with the Justice Academy in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia
A two-day training of trainers (ToT) on “Peculiarities of the victim's status in the criminal proceedings” and on “Practical skills for applying alternative preventive measures to detention” was organised in co-operation with the Justice Academy on 6-7 March in Tsaghkadzor. The goal of the first...
Future steps for the improvement of the data collection on discrimination discussed in Ukraine
On 3 March, the Council of Europe organised a meeting with representatives from state and non-state institutions in order to discuss progress in the collection of disaggregated data on cases of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Ukraine. Two Council of Europe experts presented a report...
Armenian civil servants participate in an awareness raising workshop on integrity systems and corruption prevention
An awareness raising workshop on integrity systems and corruption prevention took place on 3 March 2020, in Yerevan, Armenia. The workshop highlighted the importance of establishing a regular anti-corruption training for civil servants. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Corruption...
Improvement of the system of law enforcement in the Republic of Moldova through self-evaluation and new ICT tools
The system of enforcement of court decisions in civil and administrative matters in the Republic of Moldova will mark soon 10 years since switching to the institute of private judicial officers (bailiffs). This important reform was supported back in 2010 by the Council of Europe and the European...
Second Steering Committee Meeting of the PGG II Georgia
The second Steering Committee Meeting of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance Project on “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia” was organised on 27 February 2020. The Committee members took stock of the results...
Study visit to the Council of Europe for Georgian delegation of judicial candidates
In the framework of the project "Supporting the criminal justice reforms – tackling criminal aspects of the judicial reforms in Georgia", a study visit to the Council of Europe was organised in 25-26 February 2020 for Georgian delegation of 19 judicial candidates at the final stage of the...
CEPEJ continues to support the improvement of the efficiency of courts and the quality of judicial services in the Republic of Moldova
In the framework of the project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”, an expert mission aimed at addressing the steps for the dissemination of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) tools in all...
Ukraine’s Financial Intelligence Unit provided with recommendations for anti-money laundering statistical data collection
The Council of Europe has provided recommendations to further improve a set of comprehensive anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing statistical indicators developed by State Financial Monitoring Service (Financial Intelligence Unit of Ukraine). Adequate data collection is essential...
Call for tenders : production of four short promotional films on PGG
The Council of Europe is launching a Call for Tender for the production of four short promotional films on PGG on the occasion of its midterm implementation event that will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia, mid-May 2020. The deadline for the submission is 2 March 18:00. More information can be...
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) will organise a fact-finding visit to Georgia on 18 and 19 February 2020
On 18 and 19 February 2020, the CEPEJ Secretariat, accompanied by a group of international experts, will organise a fact finding visit to Georgia in order to introduce the new CEPEJ project in Georgiaand the work of CEPEJ to the main beneficiaries and partners (High Council of Justice, Ministry...
Training of Trainers for Prosecutors in Tbilisi, Georgia
The Council of Europe and the European Union organized training of trainers (ToT) for prosecutors on application of pre-trail measures on 6-7 February 2020. Participants explored the application of pre-trial measures under article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Special...
Regional conference on asset recovery and asset management
The regional conference “From Asset Recovery to Asset Management” took place in Chisinau on 29-30 January 2020. The conference aimed at sharing good comparative practices related to recovery, management and disposal of frozen, seized or confiscated proceeds of crime and discussing international...
Eastern Partnership Ambassadors closely following PGG II
On 24 January 2020, the Council of Europe (the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes) organized a review of the 2019 results and 2020 plans of the Partnership for Good Governance phase II (PGG II) for the Eastern Partnership Ambassadors (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the...
Training for Ukraine authorities on money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with corporate entities
A training on “Identifying money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with corporate entities” was held on 15-16 January 2020, in Kyiv, Ukraine. The training aimed at fostering understanding of beneficial ownership requirements and developing practical skills on identifying...
Financial monitoring service of Azerbaijan improves strategic analysis skills
A two-day training on “Strategic Analysis” took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on 18-19 December 2019 as part of the capacity building activities specifically designed to strengthen strategic and operational analysis capacities and expertise of the Financial Monitoring Service (national Financial...
Anti-discrimination seminar to be held in Minsk, Belarus on 12-13 December
A national training seminar on anti-discrimination in practice will be held on 12 and 13 December in Minsk, the Republic of Belarus. Capacity building activities on the application of European antidiscrimination standards in their daily work will lead to more expertise of public authorities and...
Armenian criminal justice sector stakeholders discuss draft Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes
In order to promote the criminal justice reform, several round table discussions on the draft Criminal Procedure (CPC) and Criminal (CC) Codes of Armenia were organised by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice in November-December 2019. Particularly, on 20-21 November...
Launching of the project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”
The Council of Europe and the European Union launched, in co-operation with national partners, the project “Support to further strengthening the efficiency and quality of the judicial system in the Republic of Moldova”, part of the second phase of the Partnership for Good Governance (2019-2021)....
Public discussion on the draft Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia
On 6 December in Yerevan, a public discussion on the draft Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia was organised where a variety of stakeholders, representatives of international organisations and civil society discussed various issues and proposals regarding the text of the draft...
Findings of the legislative review on the Moldovan legislation in the field of anti-discrimination discussed in Chisinau
The Council of Europe carried out a legislative review offering the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova an expert opinion, in view of ensuring that the national legislation in the field of anti-discrimination is aligned with European standards, particularly the European Convention on...
Members of the national Financial Intelligence Unit and General Prosecutor's Office trained on Open Source Intelligence in Azerbaijan
A five-day “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Training” took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 25-29 November 2019 by bringing together the analysts of the Financial Monitoring Service and investigative professionals of the Anti-Corruption Directorate under the General Prosecutor’s Office. The...
International conference: Implementing non-discrimination commitments – a path to achieving European human rights standards
The necessity of strong cooperation between national authorities and civil society, role of lawyers and the use of communication strategies as key tools for preventing and fighting discrimination were the focus of the joint European Union and Council of Europe international conference that took...
Equality bodies/Ombudsoffices and civil society from the EaP to explore how to best communicate with, and inform victims of discrimination, in regional thematic event
Strengthening the capacity of equality bodies/Ombudsoffices and NGOs to inform the public about available redress mechanisms to discrimination, hate speech and hate crime is at the core of the regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims...
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