INJ representatives participated in the annual HELP Conference and the Meeting of the Regional Network of Judicial Training Institutions in the Eastern Partnership

The 20th Council of Europe Human Rights Education Program for Legal Professionals (HELP) annual conference took place on 4-5 July 2024 in Strasbourg.

The event was held under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and brought together delegates of graduate schools from CoE member states, as well as development partners of the HELP Programme. The National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova was represented by Ecaterina Popa, head of the Training and Research Directorate, HELP focal point, and Olga Marandici, head of the International Relations Section.

The annual HELP conference provided a platform for communication on ways to improve training for professionals in the legal sector, the national implementation of European human rights standards and the development of cooperation between all relevant national and international institutions. In particular, topics were addressed regarding HELP courses as tools for strengthening EU-CoE collaboration and their impact on the European Judicial Training Strategy, the incorporation of HELP courses in the national training curriculum for actors in the field of law, digitization as support for national authorities in the effective management of challenges in the field of professional training, etc.

During the conference, the second meeting was also held The regional network of judicial training institutions in the Eastern Partnership, which was attended by the representatives of the National Institute of Justice. As part of the "Women's access to justice: implementation of the Council of Europe standards on gender equality and violence against women" project, phase III of the EU-CoE Partnership for Good Governance, the meeting aimed to evaluate the strategic objectives of the Network in order to establish a cross-border legal community, improve the quality of justice through professional training and promote gender mainstreaming and women's access to justice.

The HELP program is the Council of Europe's main human rights education platform for judges, prosecutors and lawyers. In its 20 years of existence, 54 courses have been developed on various human rights topics, available in 658 versions translated into more than 40 languages. The National Institute of Justice has taken over and adapted to the internal legal order 22 e-courses that it provides, with the assistance of national HELP certified tutors, on the ILIAS of INJ and HELP of CoE platforms.