The project “Enhancing the capacity of the Judiciary and training on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms at the NIJ” addressed the enhancement of the competencies of national courts and the Prosecution Office of the Republic of Bulgaria for the interpretation and application of national legislation, in compliance with the principles and standards of the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the ECHR decisions.
Start of the project: February 2013
Term of implementation: 36 months
Funding: Program BG 14 “Building a capacity and cooperation in the Judiciary” of the Norwegian Financial mechanism (NFM) 2009-2014
Budget: 1 210 436 Euros
Program Partner: Council of Europe
Main Objectives:
- Enhancing the capacity and awareness of magistrates and employees of the Judiciary on the principles, standards and application of the ECHR;
- Application of modern information technologies in the training of Bulgarian magistrates;
- Establishment of sustainable environment for the exchange of information in the field of the protection of human rights.
The main target groups under the project were the justice professionals, incl. magistrates and judicial employees, employees of the Ministry of Justice and other legal professionals working in the field in question.
Results from the implementation of the project:
- Working model of regional and centralized trainings in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms
Within the framework of the project were delivered:
- 4 train the trainers for 88 magistrates and judicial employees;
- 15 regional trainings for 462 magistrates and other professionals;
- 6 centralized trainings for 161 magistrates and other professionals;
- One pilot seminar on international humanitarian law for 40 magistrates;
- One distance training with face-to-face meeting for 29 magistrates and other professionals.
- Established bilateral and multilateral cooperation to guarantee the protection of human rights
Under the project were carried out:
- 4 study visits to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR for 38 magistrates and NIJ experts;
- 1 visit to Norway for the exchange of information and good practices with the Norwegian Courts Administration for 7 magistrates and NIJ experts.
- Established platform for dialogue between the stakeholders that participate in the application and implementation of human rights protection, under the form of Forum for Justice and Human rights, followed by working meetings
During the implementation phase of the project were conducted:
- Two editions of the Forum as a platform for the exchange of information and good practices in the field of human rights protection, for 191 participants;
- Two working meetings on Human Rights as a follow-up of the professional discussion from the annual forums, for 59 participants.
- Established consolidated data base in the field of protection of human rights
Elaborated and disseminated among the target groups of the project:
- Compendium with the practice of the European Court of Human Rights;
- Practical Manual in two volumes – “Judicial protection of fundamental rights in Bulgaria” and “Reference Guide of the Council of Europe”;
- Practical vocabulary on humanitarian law and human rights
- Provided technical assistance for the establishment of accessible and easy-to-use data base (30 computers, 30 laptops, scanner, server, etc.)