Through meticulous and intensive efforts for capacity building activities of the European Union and the Council of Europe Joint Project on “Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Council of State”, a training set comprising of nine books for four modules was published. Together, they support the Turkish administrative judiciary to strengthen the application of fair trial principles in court proceedings, including appeals and the quality of the decisions with regard to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Turkish Constitutional Court.
In total four training modules were developed by prominent academics and members of the working groups (comprising judges and court staff) based on the analysis:
Module 1: Legal Reasoning and Judgement Drafting (for judges)
Module 2: European Court of Human Rights and Turkish Constitutional Court Rulings in the Case Law of Administrative Justice (for judges)
Module 3: Right to a Fair Trial – Reasonable Time (for judges)
Module 4: Case and Time Management for Court Staff
Each module has been designed with a structure of a standard 8 sessions. A trainer’s guide and a participant book for each module were also developed. In addition, a training methodology handbook was also developed for common use in all modules.
Trainer’s Guide aims to assist trainers and resource persons engaged in organizing and delivering training courses. The guide provides basic information and addresses a specific area in each session with sample presentations. The guide highlights an interactive training methodology which encourages participants to play an active role, contributing to how they can apply international human rights standards effectively. This guide is also complemented by, and should be used in conjunction with, the two training tools: participant book and training methodology handbook.
The Participant Book has been prepared for the trainees in parallel with the "Trainer's Guide”. The participant book provides more information on human rights law and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and national courts.
The Training Methodology Handbook presents examples of various tools, such as questions for discussion, exercises, case studies, role-plays, ice-breakers and effective techniques and tips for trainers to integrate assessment throughout the training process, including design, delivery and follow-up. The methodology of the handbook includes Council of Europe HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) Training Methodology Manuals/Guides and its applications in various projects carried out by the Council of Europe and this project.
All the materials were revised and updated throughout the training of 78 trainers and cascade training activities addressing 925 judges and court staff in total. These materials will be further used and sustained in the in-service training seminars to be provided by the Ministry of Justice with the assistance of the judges who received training of trainers during the project lifetime.
Publications are available online from the website: Joint Project on Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of Council of State (coe.int)
The Joint Project on Improving the Effectiveness of the Administrative Judiciary and Strengthening the Institutional Capacity of the Council of State is co-funded by the European Union, the Republic of Turkey, and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe. The Turkish Ministry of Justice - Directorate General for Legal Affairs is the end beneficiary of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracts Unit is the contracting authority of this Project.
