Between April and May 2023, up to nine courses were launched for the Italian legal professionals, as part of the EU-CoE project "Judicial Training on Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (EU-CoE HELP RoL Frights)", funded by the European Union Justice Programme (2021-2027).
The online launches were organised in cooperation with respectively the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura (SSM) and the Consiglio Nazionale forense (CNF). A total of 160 judges and 120 lawyers attended the event and registered for their respective HELP tutored course.
At all launches, participants were introduced to the Council of Europe (CoE) Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme and its online platform, and benefited from thematic panels presented by relevant experts. At the end of each launch event, participants had the opportunity to share their expectations and familiarise themselves with the course implementation in a dedicated session with tutors.
HELP online courses are developed with CoE (including ECtHR) in-house expertise and cover various human rights-related topics. Apart from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), HELP covers other instruments such as the European Social Charter (ESC) or other CoE Conventions in key areas like data protection or international cooperation. HELP courses also cover the European Union (EU) legal system where applicable, by including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and relevant EU law and jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU).
Several of the courses launched have been developed with the support of the European Union.
1.Launch of the Council of Europe HELP Course Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Help course on Rights of Persons with Disabilities was launched on 18 April for a selected group of 30 magistrates.
Professor Pier Francesco Savona, Professor of Philosophy of Law at the Federico II University of Naples, spoke about the transformation of the legal vocabulary from ‘subject of right’ to ‘vulnerable persons’ due to the ethics of capability and care.
Roberto Chenal, lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights, gave an overview of jurisprudence on the rights of persons with disabilities.
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2. Multiple launch in partnership with the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura (SSM)
On 4 May, HELP launched five courses together with the SSM. 120 judges and prosecutors participated in the online event which marked the start of the tutored courses on the key thematic areas of the Environment and Human Rights, International Cooperation in Criminal Matters, Asylum and Human Rights and Data Protection and Privacy Rights.
Giovanna Bilò, seconded magistrate at the European Court of Human Rights, gave a presentation on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in the Italian legal system, which set the scene for the start of the thematic courses which have been adapted to the Italian national context by the tutors.
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3. Multiple launch in partnership with the Italian Bar Council (CNF)
On 17 May, 120 Italian lawyers participated in the launch of five courses organised in cooperation with the CNF.
The event marked the start of the tutored courses on Labour Law and Human Rights, Violence Against Women, Environment and Human Rights and Ethics for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers.
After the introduction to the HELP Programme, the thematic discussion focused the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and the Italian judicial system. The centrepiece was the presentation by Raffaele Sabato, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights in the Italian legal system.
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All the courses launched are available in self-learning format and in different languages on the Council of Europe HELP e-learning platform, which offers more than 45 thematic courses.
