In June 2009, EHRAC brought together 28 lawyers, judges, officials and activists for a two-day training seminar in St Petersburg on taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights. The seminar was organised in conjunction with the St Petersburg-based NGO, Citizens’ Watch.
The group participated in a varied programme including sessions on inter-state cases at the European Court, delivered by Joanna Evans, EHRAC’s senior lawyer. Participants believed this not only imparted knowledge directly relevant to their work, but also prompted a re-thinking of other areas of law. Arkady Gutnikov, Director of the St. Petersburg Prince Oldenburgsky Institute of Law, introduced the participants to the Open Network Online Clinic for European Court Cases, which was found to be an essential means of enhancing legal knowledge.
Other sessions covered the European Court’s practice in immigration cases and an overview of recent precedent European Court judgments concerning Russia. A local judge ran a session on how the Russian courts use European Court judgments in their practice. Participants welcomed the practical information contained in these sessions, and were particularly appreciative of the high standards of the trainers and level of discussion.
A legal clinic was held on the second day during which Joanna Evans provided in-depth consultations to lawyers and students on issues arising in cases they were currently litigating.
Feedback from the event included:
"It’s great that this seminar took place. There was a much higher level of discussion and professionalism than at similar events."
"The speaker did a fantastic job of presenting the legal framework, which is useful for my work. The practicality of the cases discussed both surprised and delighted me."
