On 5 and 12 June 2020, the Council of Europe in partnership with the Tunisian Higher Institute of Magistracy and the Ministry of Justice organised conferences which trained 256 auditors. A third conference on the same theme has just been organised on 19 June 2020.
These conferences, which focus on the theme "The judge and mediation", took place via videoconference due to the current circumstances. The objective was to initiate the future magistrates of the Tunisian Superior Institute of Magistracy to mediation and to familiarize them with this practice.
The first two conferences were inaugurated by Mr Ahmed YAHAOUI, Director General of the Higher Institute of Magistracy in Tunisia, and moderated by Mr Léonardo D'URSO, international expert of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) in Mediation.
During these conferences, the 256 listeners were also able to share their reflections on the various aspects and practices relating to them. Finally, this training enabled them to consider the possibilities of introducing mediation in the Tunisian judicial system.
These conferences were organised in the framework of the programme "Improving the functioning, performance and access to justice in Tunisia" (AP-JUST), which is co-financed by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the latter. Its main objectives are to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and to improve the quality of and access to justice.