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Back HELP course on bioethics in Italy: joint launch for more than 80 judges and lawyers

The HELP online course Key human rights principles in biomedicine was launched on 16 October for more than 80 Italian judges and lawyers in cooperation with the National Bar Council (Consiglio Nazional Forense - CNF) and School of Magistrates (Scuola Superiore della Magistratura - SSM).

During the joint virtual launching event, participants were welcomed by Francesca Sorbi, CNF representative, and Gianluca Grasso, SSM representative and HELP Focal Point for Italy. Furthermore, a presentation of the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme of the Council of Europe was delivered including its aim: supporting implementation of European human rights standards at practical level, and main strengths: (i) the network of judicial training institutions and bar councils of the Council of Europe member States, and (ii) the practical online courses accessible to all for free in the HELP online platform.

Raffaele Sabato, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights elected in respect of Italy, provided participants with an overview on the Strasbourg Court case law with a focus on human rights and biomedicine. The Council of Europe standard in the field of human rights and biomedicine, mainly the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention), were presented by Fabio Macioce, Full Professor of Legal Theory and Bioethics, Lumsa University of Rome and author of the HELP course.

Finally, Giovanni Pansini (HELP Info Point for Italy) and Ivana Roagna, HELP national tutors for lawyers and judges respectively, provided participants with practical information on the course which will be implemented online over a 2-months period. The HELP course on Key human rights principles in Biomedicine, developed jointly with the Bioethics Unit, is accessible on the Council of Europe HELP e-learning platform in various languages. It consists of eight modules: