In November 2008 EHRAC was commissioned by the Council of Europe to run a training seminar in London for 15 advocates from bar associations across Russia. The four-day seminar focused on applying the European Convention on Human Rights in domestic legal proceedings and practice.
The programme started with a general sesson on the application of the Convention in domestic proceedings in Russia and then examined specific Convention articles including those covering the right to a fair trial, to liberty and security, to privacy and family life and the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment. There were also sessions on the procedure for taking a case to the European Court and on accessing ECHR materials in Russian. The sessions encouraged the participants to ask questions and discuss problems with one another, particularly about substantive issues of human rights law.
The participants spent one day at Matrix Chambers where they met practising British lawyers, who spoke on human rights in the UK and on UK and Russian extradition cases. They also visited the Royal Courts of Justice.
The overall response to the training seminar was very positive. The participants were impressed with the organisation and content of the sessions, and special praise was reserved for the visit to the Royal Courts of Justice, and the sessions on the right to a fair trial. The vast majority of participants stated that the knowledge they had gained would be very useful in their work and that the sessions would "no doubt, facilitate the professional development of each participant".
For more information on what the participants thought of the seminar, please see the feedback report.
