On Friday 9 September 2016, a certification ceremony took place in the premises of the Conseil National des Barreaux (CNB – France) for the group of participants who have successfully completed the HELP/UNHCR course on the European Convention on Human Rights and asylum.

It was a very successful event paving the way for even closer cooperation with the CNB and French lawyers for the future and demonstrating, if need be, the value of the HELP/UNHCR course and of the HELP programme as a whole not only in terms of training but also as a tool to strengthen interactions between practicing lawyers in this field.​ In this regard, the CNB representatives related how much they value the partnership with the HELP programme.  

The participants unanimously praised the format and the content of the course as well as the complementary background notes posted by the national trainer (Mr Josquin Legrand) in the context of the national adaptation highlighting in particular:

• ​The user-friendly navigation through the course (including the possibility to consult again some of the chapters after the deadline was passed ;
• The accuracy and the added value of the references to the ECtHR judgments, allowing the participants to directly identify the relevant paras as well as exploring further the rest of the rulings and related cases;
• The accessibility of the course for participants less familiar with the topic;
• The added value of the complementary notes which provided an update on the most recent judgments as well as the implications for national judicial practice/litigation;
• The usefulness of the course as a reference material that many participants consulted in the course of working on specific expulsion cases, therefore demonstrating the concrete and immediate impact this training resource already had on their practice/litigation;
• The flexibility of the methodology and the extension of the deadlines fairly taking into account the time/organisational constraints of the legal practitioners;
• The appreciation of the HELP course on the introduction to the ECHR which is referred to at the beginning of the asylum course and was consulted by a number of participants;
• The interest of the participants to retain access to the national page of the course where additional updates could be posted (including from the national trainer who offered to compile and summarise the most relevant points of the various background notes and a few most recent judgments in one single document) and also with a view to continue using the discussion forum to exchange on their respective practice.

In light of the above and following further side discussions with the CNB Secretariat and certain participants a number of follow-up/action points were recommended: 

• ​The incorporation of the HELP/UNHCR course into the CNB continuous training curriculum will require its certification by the Training Committee of the CNB which involves the submission of a file by the HELP Programme or the DBF as well as meeting a number of criteria; 
• A trilateral meeting between the CNB President Eydoux, Director General Boillat and UNHCR Representative Gruenert to discuss and endorse officially the reinforcement of the cooperation with French lawyers in ECHR related matters would be useful.