On 23 April 2021 the Council of Europe project “Combating violence against children in the Republic of Moldova” and the European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) launched the HELP online course on child-friendly justice. The HELP course is implemented in cooperation with the Academy “Stefan cel Mare” and General Inspectorate of Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova.
The course will last 2 months and will be implemented for two groups of participants: 50 students/master students of the Academy “Stefan cel Mare” and 56 police officers nominated by the General Inspectorate of Police.
The HELP course was prepared on the basis of the Guidelines on child-friendly justice, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2010, which represents the most extensive set of standards on child-friendly justice. The course aims to translate these standards into practice and provide support for legal professionals to effectively implement them in their daily work.
In her welcoming remarks, Giulia Re, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau mentioned “I hope the course will help police officers to look at the criminal justice system from the perspective of the child: what can be done to ensure that the principles of the best interests of the child, participation, equal treatment and the rule of law are upheld”.
Marin Maxian, the Deputy Head of the General Inspectorate of Police specified that “The best interest of the child is a priority for the police and improving the knowledge of professionals in this field is necessary in order to adapt existing practices to international standards.”
“Following this course, the Academy will analyse the possibility of introducing in the Academy’s curriculum a separate course on child friendly justice, in order to ensure the sustainability of the information”, affirmed Iurie Odagiu, first Vice-rector for studies and quality management, doctor in law, associate professor of the Police Academy “Stefan cel Mare”.
The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) is the only pan-European Network of national training institutions for judges, prosecutors, lawyers and other legal professionals in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. It is an e-learning platform with free on-line courses on human rights and a human rights training methodology for legal professionals.