Judges and prosecutors of Moldova to participate in CoE seminars on human rights

Starting 20 November 2006, judges and prosecutors from courts of general jurisdiction throughout the country will be improving their skills in applying the European Convention of Human Rights at the national level. Six two-day intensive training seminars will be held in Chisinau, run by Moldovan trainers who are themselves judges and prosecutors, according to the official site of the Council of Europe. The national trainers were trained by international experts in early 2006. This is the second series of training seminars following the same format. It is being organized as a result of the high level of interest of both judges and prosecutors in attending such training sessions. The seminars aim to strengthen the capacity of judges and prosecutors to use the ECHR in the cases and decisions they have to deal with. Upon completion of this series of seminars, a total of 300 judges and prosecutors will have been trained on the ECHR and its use in Moldova. These seminars are part of the Joint Programme of Co-operation between the European Commission and the Council of Europe for Moldova: Support to continue democratic reforms 2004-2006. One of main objectives of the Programme is to strengthen human rights protection in Moldova by providing assistance towards effective implementation of the Council of Europe human rights standards in national procedures. In addition to trainings for judges and prosecutors, the Programme has also provided trainings to lawyers, NGO representatives and the Office of the Government Agent of the Republic of Moldova before the European Court of Human Rights. Several human rights related publications and translations of human rights literature have been produced and distributed to legal professionals under this Programme.