On 8 November 2016 the HELP Programme and the National School of Judges in Greece organised a workshop on the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the protection of asylum-seekers for members of the New Independent Appeal Committees and administrative judges. The event was organised in cooperation with the Association of Greek Administrative Judges and the UNHCR,  with the support of DG Justice of the European Commission under the framework of the “HELP in the 28” programme. The event was held at a critical time given the challenges faced by the judiciary in Greece dealing with the current refugee situation. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled on a number of occasions that such challenges do not affect states’ responsibility to comply with ECHR standards. A proper implementation of these standards at domestic level (in accordance with the subsidiarity principle) often allows some of these challenges to be tackled.

At the workshop the HELP/UNHCR course on the ECHR and Asylum was launched for a pilot group of 25 administrative judges. It will be adapted to the specific national context in Greece and eventually integrated in the continuous training curriculum of the National School of Judges.