On 15-16 November 2018, the Council of Europe is organising an international conference on “The role and independence of lawyers: comparative prospectives” jointly with the International Commission of Jurists and the Bar Association of Azerbaijan.

The Conference is intended to cross perspectives on the governance and role of the legal profession by international experts and prominent lawyers representing the leadership of national bar associations from a wide range of countries.
Mr Christophe Poirel, Director of Human Rights, Council of Europe, Mr Azer Jafarov, Deputy Minister of Justice of Azerbaijan, Mr Anar Baghirov, Chairman of the Azerbaijani Bar Association, Mr Sam Zarifi, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists and Mr Kestutis Jankauskas, Head of EU Delegation to the Republic of Azerbaijan will address the audience at the opening session.

The conference will continue with interventions providing a comparative view on the conditions and requirements that lawyers should comply with while carrying out their professional duty of protection of human rights of their clients. Participants of the conference will address in particular the organisation and governance of the legal profession, lawyers’ ethics and qualification of lawyers. Special attention will be given to the role of training for lawyers in shaping an independent legal profession and the manifold resources offered by the Council of Europe and the International Commission of Jurists to that effect.

The event brings together up to 180 participants, notably representatives of Bar associations from various countries, state authorities of Azerbaijan, embassies, international and non-governmental organisations, members of the Azerbaijan Bar Association, judges and prosecutors.

The conference is organised in the framework of the “Application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in Azerbaijan” project, which is part of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) program for Eastern Partnership countries and is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe.

   The event is broadcasted live.

   Agenda