On March 1, the application process of the course “Human Rights Standards in the Practice of Lawyers and Judges” has started. It was announced at a press lunch, organized by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.
The course “Human Rights Standards in the Practice of Lawyers and Judges” is a unique educational tool that aims to improve the professional capacity of judges and lawyers to promote and protect human rights and freedoms in Ukraine, and the implementation of international standards of human rights into the national legal system.

During the meeting, Arkadiy Bushchenko, Executive Director of UHHRU and lawyer, stressed that it was time to enter the market with an own product.

“The difference between this course and many others is the focus on human rights standards and in-depth study not only the standards but also their implementation and use of these standards in legal practice,” he stressed.
During the training, which will last for a year, participants will learn more about the theory and history of human rights, the European system of human rights protection, approaches of the European Court of Human Rights to interpretation and application of the Convention. They will receive in-depth knowledge of the standards of individual rights guaranteed by the Convention and also acquire the skills and abilities required to effectively apply the knowledge gained in the implementation in the process of protection of the rights of clients or the administration of justice at the national level.

As noted during the presentation of Ivan Lishchyna, Government Agent before the European Court of Human Rights: ‘The practical benefits of the course “Human Rights Standards in the Practice of Lawyers and Judges” are learning to analyze judgments of the European Court, the factual circumstances of the cases in terms of eligibility criteria, to select relevant facts, to formulate legal opinions concerning the case from the perspective of human rights standards, and build arguments of violations. And most importantly, you will work in a team of professionals.’

Ukrainian lawyers and judges, who are interested in new knowledge and advanced professional tools in order to establish the rule of law in Ukraine, are invited to participate in the selection process.

According to Daria Svyrydova, UHHRU coordinator of educational programs for lawyers, the selection of candidates to participate the course will consist of two steps: filling the questionnaire and solving the task.
‘This will allow future participants to see if they really want to study this program that for them it is really valuable, important and meaningful,’ she said.

Serhii Zaiets, a lawyer of the Regional Centre for Human Rights and an expert of UHHRU, proved that this is the only systematic course to study human rights in Ukraine.
‘First of all, the significance of this course is that participants of this program are immersed in this subject during the year. They will regularly learn materials. The most important result is to change patterns of thinking,’ said the expert.

In turn, Maria Ivanyk, PR-manager of the LIGA: LAW company, promised that the company had prepared many surprises for the course participants. ‘Our products are to help lawyers fully. Our platform contains all legislation’, she said.
The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) in partnership with the Educational Human Rights House – Chernihiv, the Foundation of Human Rights Houses, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Poland) and the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, introduces the course. The general media partner is LIGA: LAW.
Please note that participation in the training course “Human Rights Standards in the Practice of Lawyers and Judges” is free of charge.
The last day of registration to participate the course is March 20, 2017.
More details on our website http://hrs-course.helsinki.org.ua/
More information about the training courses on Facebook
The course development was funded by Global Affairs Canada as part of UHHRU Human Rights First project, completed in February 2017. The practical implementation of the course will begin in Spring 2017 as part of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Human Rights in Action project, which is also implemented by UHHRU. The event was made possible thanks to the support of the American people through USAID. The American people, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for 55 years. In Ukraine, USAID’s assistance focuses on three areas: Health and Social Transition, Economic Growth and Democracy and Governance. USAID has provided 1.8 bln technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since 1992.
For additional information about USAID programs in Ukraine, please visit our website: http://ukraine.usaid.gov or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.