20 successful participants received their certificates of completion for the HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course on violence against women and domestic violence.
The 3-months online HELP course was jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the High School of Justice. The judges and assistant to judges from Tbilisi City Court, Tbilisi Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Georgia were trained on the key concepts, the international and European legal framework and the European case law governing the prevention and protection of women and girls from violence, focusing in particular on the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention.
During the certificate award ceremony, the Director of the High School of Justice Vano Bolkvadze reminded participants of the fruitful cooperation between the High School of Justice and the Council of Europe and the importance of promoting an integrated approach and sharing international best practices to prevent violence against women.
The Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Stefan Sirbu also emphasised the importance of the HELP course: “Today we are awarding 20 successful participants with the certificates. That’s 20 more people with judicial authority that have become more proficient in applying standards of the European Court of Human Rights and in particular the Istanbul Convention and in delivering justice free from gender stereotypes in their work involving survivors of violence against women and domestic violence”.
The participants themselves also stressed the importance of the course. Sopho Danelia, Assistant to Judge - Senior Consultant of the Secretariat of the Chamber of Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court, stated: "Within this course, we the officials working in the judicial system, got in-depth knowledge of the Istanbul Convention and felt the importance of integrating its content in our daily work. As a result of the efforts and hard work of the trainers, the course was highly informative and interactive. I am sure that in the future the legal documents we draft will be more well-grounded and in line with the standards set by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Istanbul Convention”.
The course was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Promoting an Integrated Approach to End Violence against Women and Enhancing Gender Equality in Georgia”.
