A regional conference on professional training of judges and prosecutors organised by the Council of Europe and the General Prosecutor’s Office of Belarus will take place in Minsk on 28-29 April 2016. 

The main objective of this event is to identify the most acute training needs of legal professionals and to inform the participants of the new ways to integrate the European Court of Human Rights case law into the training materials for magistrates.

The conference participants will share best practices for professional training and country-specific experiences. They will discuss how professional training can add value to effective adjudication at national level, in line with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights and other Council of Europe legal instruments. Special attention will be paid to such themes as combatting radicalisation through professional legal training, and dealing with evidence in criminal proceedings.

Philippe Boillat, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law who will represent the Council of Europe at the conference, said in the run-up to the event: “Professional training of judges and prosecutors is a priority for the Council of Europe, as it is an important part of its strategy for the effective implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights at national level. I am pleased that Belarus, while not yet a member of the Council of Europe, is hosting this event; it demonstrated Belarus’ interest in translating the Council of Europe’s legal standards and expertise to the work of the national judicial system”.

Belarus will be represented by Alexander Konyuk, Prosecutor General; Valentin Sukalo, Chair of the Supreme Court; Petr Miklashevich, Chair of the Constitutional Court; Valery Mickevich, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Belarus; and Ivan Noskevich, Chairman of the Investigative Committee.

High-level representatives of judicial authorities and training institutions from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine will also take part in the event in Minsk.

The Council of Europe offers a pan-European platform for professional legal training through its European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP). It is a large peer-to-peer training network, composed of representatives of national training institutions from all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. HELP offers a modern and tailor-made methodology for each national system to train judges, prosecutors and lawyers on effective implementation of the Convention and the Court’s case law in their day-to-day activities.