A conference was organised to provide a forum for open discussions on national implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights with participation of international experts and a lawyer of the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights.

The event was attended by representatives of state authorities of Azerbaijan, notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Presidential Administration, Ombudsman Office, Judicial Legal Council, Constitutional Court, Prosecutor General’s Office, Bar Association, judges, prosecutors, lawyers and non-governmental organisations working in the area of human rights. 

Mr Mikhail Lobov, Head of Human Rights Policy and Co-operation Department of the Council of Europe, addressed the audience at the opening session speaking about the European Convention on Human Rights as a tool for justice reforms. The judicial dialogue between the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts was also in focus of discussions during the conference.

The afternoon part continued in three parallel sessions dedicated to the topics such as the ECHR and the ECtHR case-law as a tool to identify deficiencies in national legislation and practice, practical problems of taking a case to the ECtHR and property rights as protected by the ECHR. The conclusions of the parallel sessions were presented and discussed in the plenary session at the end of the conference. The particular conclusions of the discussions will be taken on board by the project to improve the contents of the capacity building measures.

The event was organised in the framework of the Project on “Application of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights in Azerbaijan” that is part of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) program for Eastern Partnership countries and is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe.