Judiciary, representatives of the ministries of justice, bar associations and civil society organisations of Eastern Partnership countries met in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, to discuss challenges and complexities of the ongoing justice reform processes taking place in their countries. The discussions on different aspects of the selection, evaluation and promotion of judges, the role of high courts in ensuring harmonisation of judicial practice and equality of arms in civil and criminal proceedings were held in the three working groups that are formed in the framework of the project.

The Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Nicolae Esanu who welcomed participants noted the importance of exchanging experiences on judicial reform processes with a view to ensuring that national legislations not only comply with relevant international standards, but are also effectively translated into practice when implemented.

Discussions aimed at exchanging information and experiences from lessons learned from the region and the wider Council of Europe area; increasing awareness of relevant European and international standards; identifying shared challenges and possible ways in which these could be dealt with. Representatives of the civil society organisations and professionals from key institutions of the six participating countries were also invited and contributed to the discussions.

The meetings were organised in the framework of the project on Regional Dialogue on Judicial Reform in the Eastern Partnership countries, implemented in the framework of the CoE/EU Programmatic Co-operation Framework for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.