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Public discussions held under the framework of judicial reforms

Under the framework of ongoing judicial reforms, a series of public discussions related to the legislative amendments in respect to civil procedure, administrative procedure and criminal procedure legislations was organised by the joint EU/Council of Europe project “Support to the Justice Reform in Armenia” on 18-28 April in Yerevan. The discussions, organised in co-operation with the Supreme Judicial Council, served as a platform bringing together the representatives of the judiciary, representatives of the executive power, other state bodies, CSOs, advocates, international partners, and scholars.

The packages of draft laws aim at solving different issues the judicial system faces nowadays including decreasing the workload of the courts, ensuring the right to proceedings within a reasonable time, and increasing the efficiency of justice in the country.

In particular, the purpose of the draft amendments is to decrease the workload of the administrative court, to improve the effectiveness of out-of-court settlement of civil cases with small claims, to create additional prerequisites for ensuring principles of competition and procedural economy in civil proceedings. Besides, based on the issues identified in the connection to the application of the new criminal justice legislation solutions or improvement of existing legal framework are envisaged, including introduction of the institute of sentencing a person upon agreement to a fine by a written procedure which will reduce the workload of the courts. It is foreseen that around 38 % of the total number of criminal cases will be subject to this procedure.

These events are part of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Partnership for Good Governance”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe” in the framework of the project "Support to the Justice Reform in Armenia".

 

Armenia 18-28 April 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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