The European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project on Strengthening the Capacity of Bar Associations and Lawyers on European Human Rights Standards organised an online kick-off meeting on 21 February 2022 to announce the launching of the tutored HELP Courses on ‘’Introduction to the ECHR and the ECtHR’’ and ‘’Asylum and the ECHR’’
These two tutored courses targeted trainee lawyers only, and the online kick-off meeting brought together more than 900 prospective course participants who were informed about the Council of Europe HELP Programme (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) and received practical advice on the two HELP Courses.
The participants were welcomed by Ms Eva PASTRANA (Head of Justice and Human Rights Training Division, Council of Europe), Ms Pınar Başpınar (Head of Operations of the Programme Office in Ankara, Council of Europe) and Mr Murat Yalkın (Director of International Relations and EU Centre, Union of Turkish Bar Associations). The meeting continued with a briefing by Fethullah SOYUBELLİ (Secondee Judge, HELP Unit, Council of Europe) on the HELP Programme and navigation through the HELP Platform. Ali Rıza GÜDER (Lawyer, HELP Unit, Council of Europe) provided an overview on content of the courses, while Mr Musa Toprak (Project Manager and HELP Info Point for Turkey, Council of Europe) further contributed with a comprehensive presentation on practical information regarding the courses. The six Help tutors, who will guide the participants throughout their participation to the courses, introduced themselves at the end of the meeting.
The HELP Course on Introduction to the ECHR and the ECtHR delivers information about the Convention and the Court. The participants will recognise the relevance of direct implementation of human rights standards at a national level and to automatically link national case law to the possible implementation of the ECHR after they complete the Course. The interactive Asylum and the ECHR course covers the key provisions and the related case law of the European Court of Human Rights which are particularly relevant for asylum-seekers and refugees.
The Joint Project on “Strengthening the Capacity of Bar Associations and Lawyers on European Human Rights Standards (SCoBAL)” is implemented by the Council of Europe, and co-funded by the European Union, the Republic of Turkey and the Council of Europe. The Union of Turkish Bar Associations is the end beneficiary of the Project. The Central Finance and Contracting Unit is the contracting authority.
