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Joint Efforts on the EU accession path: Experience exchange between the Ukrainian and Latvian Constitutional Courts
Judges and legal staff from the Constitutional Courts of Ukraine and Latvia met in Riga with the aim to exchange experiences on Ukraine’s European integration through the example of the steps taken by the Latvian legal system to join the EU and NATO. The meetings in Riga reinforced the dialogue...
140th Plenary session of the Venice Commission: New opinions prepared under the Quick Response Mechanism
At its 140th plenary session (held on 11-12 October 2024), the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe adopted, among others: Armenia: Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI) of the Council of Europe on the draft amendments to the...
Enhancing ethical journalism by training Armenian journalists on combating hate speech
Journalists play a vital role in shaping public opinion and supporting democratic processes. By providing reliable information, they can contribute to promote mutual understanding and a tolerant society. To foster ethical journalism and combat hate speech, a two-day training for 20 Armenian...
Ukrainian Constitutional Identity and European Integration: Finding a Balance
The constitutional identity of Ukraine and its alignment with the European integration process, especially amidst the ongoing war, were at the focus of the Third Mariupol Forum, held in Kyiv on 4 October. Over 100 national and international participants joined the discussion on Ukrainian...
Regional co-operation key to tackling discrimination and racism
Law enforcement institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Republic of Moldova met in Podgorica on 26-28 September with the aim to address racism, discrimination, and the protection of minority groups, especially the LGBTI community. This...
Equality and non-discrimination training session for Armenian Police Officers
After the first training held in June 2024, Armenian police officers participated to a follow-up training on European standards on equality and non-discrimination. Arpine Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, opened the training, highlighting the importance of...
Building stronger partnerships to combat discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes in the Republic of Moldova
A workshop was held in the country’s northern region aiming to enhance the protection of victims of discrimination, hate speech and hate crimes. Participants (57 in total) included legal professionals, police officers and representatives of national authorities working in the field of equality....
Improving the functioning of the electronic document management system of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
On 30 August 2024 the Working Group on the functioning of the electronic document management system of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine brought together over 50 staff members of the Court to discuss ways of improving the electronic document management system. Discussions focused on the issues...
Monitoring the implementation of acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
On 28-29 August 2024 the Working Group for monitoring the implementation of acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine gathered in Kyiv some 40 staff members of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to address the issues relating to the implementation of the acts of the Constitutional Court of...
More transparency in the fight against money laundering through a series of tailor-made trainings
Beneficial ownership transparency has become a priority. The misuse of legal entities facilitates tax evasion, corruption, and money laundering. Professionals working in the field need to stay updated, to ensure fiscal transparency, financial stability, and effective law enforcement. A series of...
Armenian Police Officers trained on equality and non-discrimination
A two-day event for police officers in Armenia improved their knowledge and understanding of equality and non-discrimination concepts in accordance with the European standards. The opening part of the training session was attended by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan, by the...
Eastern Partnership law schools agree to advance on gender mainstreaming university education
Representatives of law schools from major universities in Armenia, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine met in Tbilisi to discuss gender mainstreaming efforts including across the curricula. Over the course of two days, professors of law benefitted from several presentations, including on the...
Addressing racism and racial discrimination in the context of the EU accession process in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership region
The Council of Europe in Strasbourg welcomed during 3-4 July a two-day conference, focusing on tackling racism and racial discrimination in the context of the EU accession process. The conference, supported by EU and Council of Europe titled "Addressing racism and racial discrimination in the...
Presenting European standards on national minorities in Armenia
A joint working discussion on the draft law on national minorities, brought together representatives from respective institutions, as well as representatives from various national minorities. This meeting was organised at the initiative of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia and the National...
Methodology for preparation of draft acts of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine improved
On 11-12 July 2024, a working group brought together the staff of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine to discuss the methodology for the preparation of draft acts of the Constitutional Court based on the European standards and best practices. Held in the framework of the EU/Council of Europe...
Further steps taken by the Regional Network of Eastern Partnership judicial training institutions for advancing women’s access to justice and gender mainstreaming in the justice chain
The second meeting of the Eastern Partnership Regional Network of judicial training institutions was held on 5 July 2024 in Strasbourg, as part of the HELP Network Annual Conference. The meeting gathered rectors, vice-rectors and heads of international co-operation departments from Eastern...
Addressing hate speech and hate crime: regional gathering of the network of equality bodies from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region
Representatives of equality bodies part of a network covering the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans regions met in Strasbourg, France, to discuss best practices, measures and common challenges when addressing hate speech and hate crime. Through monitoring and reporting, policy advocacy,...
Strengthening Ukrainian Constitutional Justice for EU Integration
The challenges of Ukraine’s European integration process through the prism of the country’s Constitution were the focus of an international conference organised by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. Over 180 participants from Ukraine and abroad participated to the conference and explored...
Empowering Roma community mediators in the Republic of Moldova to combat discrimination
23 Roma community mediators attended a training that equipped them with the skills and knowledge to tackle discrimination and effectively advocate for Roma rights at both national and local community level. This event was organised in co-operation with the Agency for Interethnic and covered...
Combating hate speech in Armenia by empowering educational institutions
The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia launched an important initiative to combat hate speech in educational institutions. An expected series of actions will empower educators and students by providing necessary tools and knowledge to stand against hate speech. This comes as...
139th Plenary session of the Venice Commission: New opinions prepared under the Quick Response Mechanism
At its 139th plenary session (held on 21-22 June 2024), the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe adopted, among others: Armenia Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity on the draft law on national minorities. Republic of Moldova...
Strengthening police and civil society collaboration to combat racism in the Eastern Partnership and Western Balkan countries
In continuation of the joint efforts put in place by the European Union and the Council of Europe to enhance cross-regional collaboration to combat racism in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries, a peer-to-peer exchange was organised in Skopje. This training brought together...
European standards on minorities’ protection at the centre of a training for legal professionals in the Republic of Moldova
A two-day tailor-made training was organised in co-operation with the National Institute of Justice for 63 legal professionals from judicial institutions in the Republic of Moldova. The aim of the training was to enhance their knowledge and understanding of European standards on the protection of...
The European Union and the Council of Europe support the Ukrainian authorities in the implementation of the priority reforms towards the alignment with European standards and practice
The European Union and the Council of Europe, together with representatives of national authorities, partner institutions and civil society organisations gathered for the Local Steering Committee meeting of the Partnership for Good Governance Programme. It was an opportunity to take stock of the...
Armenian officials and law enforcement successfully completed advanced course on combating hate Speech
From 5 April to 30 May 2024, twelve representatives from Armenia's Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights Defender’s Office, and law enforcement agencies successfully completed an online course on combating hate speech. This course, focused on the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance...
Ensuring legal redress to hate speech and hate crime in line with European standards
80 legal professionals from the Republic of Moldova participated in a two-day seminar, organisaed in co-operation with the National Institute of Justice. The seminar aimed at promoting the experience of the involved actors on addressing hate speech and discrimination and discuss possible...
Improving dialogue between Police and the LGBTI community in the Republic of Moldova
A platform for dialogue was created between Police and civil society organisations that promote the rights of LGBTI community in the Republic of Moldova. The meeting brought together 21 officers of the General Police Inspectorate and 19 representatives of civil society organisations, and...
Promoting European values with the Young European Ambassadors and Equality Ambassadors in Georgia
Representatives from the Council of Europe Office in Georgia and the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia co-hosted a meeting with Georgian Young European Ambassadors (YEAs). These YEAs had recently completed a series of online and in-person regional training sessions on promoting equality...
Supporting the reduction of backlog in Georgian courts through workshops on dedicated CEPEJ tool
The court coaching programme of European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) continued from 16 to 17 May 2024, representatives from the Batumi City court attended a two-day workshop on the CEPEJ Backlog reduction tool. The workshop aimed to introduce the court representatives to the...
A round-table on the right to file a constitutional individual complaint with the Latvian and Ukrainian Constitutional Courts
A two-day round-table discussion to exchange on experiences and best practices on the right to file a constitutional individual complain was held on 9 and10 May, with the participation of the Constitutional Courts of Ukraine and the Republic of Latvia. The aim is to contribute to the development...
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