24 Georgian judges and assistants to judges attended the launch of the Council of Europe HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. This is this the first HELP course launched in co-operation with the High School of Justice on this topic in Georgia.
In his opening remarks, the Director of the High School of Justice Vano Bolkvadze highlighted the importance the HELP course and the need for continuous development and capacity building of the judiciary representatives.
Natalia Voutova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia underlined the fruitful joint work of the Council of Europe and the High School of Justice, highlighting the importance of the HELP platform as an opportunity to deepen the knowledge of court staff in regard to the Istanbul Convention.
Eva Pastrana, Head of the Justice and Human Rights Training Devision of the Council of Europe provided insights on the HELP platform and courses available online for legal professionals.
The course will be tutored by the Supreme Court judge Ketevan Tsintsadze, who presented the Georgian context and legal order regarding the criminalisation of violence against women. The European standards on violence against women and domestic violence were presented by Tamar Dekanosidze, Council of Europe expert and co-tutor of the course.
The course developed by the Council of Europe aims at improving the quality of the judicial response to cases of violence against women and at supporting access to justice for victims while prosecuting perpetrators. It covers in interactive ways 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 Istanbul Convention. The course can be accessed in English on the HELP online platform under this link.
The course is 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”.
