On 26-27 September and 30 September-1 October 2019, 55 criminal law judges from different courts of Armenia acquired new skills and knowledge on specific aspects of Articles 3, 5 and 6 of the ECHR and on reopening of criminal cases.

The seminar was facilitated by two Council of Europe international experts and was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the criminal law judges to apply European standards on criminal justice in a harmonised manner. Among other topics, the seminar was dedicated to substantive elements and legal criteria of the right to liberty and security, to elements of the right to a fair trial and to the current pressing issues of ensuring right to liberty and security in criminal procedure. The seminar was also focused on crimes of torture and the principle of absolute prohibition, elements of effective investigation, the burden of proof and its particularities in investigation of torture crimes. Moreover, the judges benefited from an overview on reopening (judicial review) of criminal proceedings following the ECtHR’s judgment and the ECtHR’s judgment as “new circumstances” ground for exceptional review in criminal procedure. A number of case studies presented at the seminar also contributed to the overall goal of the seminar and to the interactive exchange with the judges.

The seminar was organized by the Project “Supporting the criminal justice reform and harmonizing the application of the European standards in Armenia”, funded within the European Union and Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance for 2019-2021.