Study tour on "Learning from the Slovak experience in the field of a national system of life-long education” for judges, prosecutors, advocates and legal professionals for participants from Belarus
The study tour, including a seminar for legal professionals from Belarus, was organised by NISPAcee, in Bratislava, the Slovak Republic from September 19-25, 2010 under the umbrella of the joint Slovak-UNDP Trust Fund - NISPAcee project "Upgrading of the national system of life-long education for judges, prosecutors, advocates and legal professionals".
The main goal of this project was to contribute to the development of the national system of life-long education for legal professionals in Belarus, up to the level attained by European countries. The project should help to adjust curricula and programmes of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University, and to expand the Institute’s partnerships with similar institutions in European countries; in this case, the Slovak Republic. The system of Slovak life-long education of lawyers ensures that Slovak judges, prosecutors, advocates and other lawyers have the same eligibility level as lawyers from other countries of the European Union. This is because the Slovak system of life-long education has a long history, during which time the system has become sophisticated and complex, with Slovak legal professionals having to study constantly to absorb new legal norms, institutes and proceedings.
The study participants consisted of 12 Belarusian legal professionals (pedagogues from the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University and legal experts from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus, Supreme Economic Court of the Republic of Belarus, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Belarus, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education). Each of the participants are closely involved in the life-long educational system of legal professions in Belarus and the majority were involved in the establishment of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University.
The programme of the study tour was prepared by a team of Slovak legal experts, led by Jana Oremova, NISPAcee Programme Director for this project. The programme was divided into two main parts – a seminar and site visits to relevant Slovak institutions:
Within the seminar, the Slovak legal experts presented a general legal introduction to the system of the judiciary and their experiences from the various areas of legal education. Their presentations covered the following areas:
- Study of law in the Slovak Republic,
- Legal status of a "Judge”, "Prosecutor” and "Advocate” in the Slovak Republic,
- The judicial system in the Slovak Republic, special institutions of the judiciary and the system of public prosecution in the Slovak Republic,
- General principles of judicial proceedings in the Slovak Republic,
- Life-long education of lawyers in the Slovak Republic,
- Life-long education of lawyers through universities and law faculties, private educational institutions and special institutions as provided by law,
- Life-long education of executors, notaries and advocates.
The presentations gave participants basic information on the Slovak judiciary system, the legal position of judges, prosecutors, advocates, executors and notaries and the general principles of all types of judicial proceedings. The Belarusian delegation obtained information about all forms and methods of life-long education of lawyers in Slovakia and were made familiar with best Slovak practices and their potential application in the Belarusian education system.
The Head of the Belarusian delegation, Mr. Valery Godunov, Director of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University, presented the system of life-long education of lawyers in Belarus. In the discussions following, the Slovak experts, together with the Belarusian participants, spoke about the very serious shortage and problems in the field of life-long education in Belarus. The Slovak experts asked additional questions regarding the Belarusian life-long educational system with the aim of obtaining sufficient information to formulate final recommendations.
Within the study tour, several relevant state and private educational institutions were visited – Pan European University - Faculty of Law, Academia Istropolitana NOVA, Judicial Academy of the Slovak Republic, the Slovak Bar Association and Comenius University – Faculty of Law / Institute of International Relations and Approximation of Law. The leading representatives of each of these institutions presented to the Belarusian delegation their system of education, conditions and forms of education, organisational structure, students, teaching curricula and co-operation possibilities. These important Slovak institutions, which provide further legal education, presented, in practice, how the Slovak educational institutions work and also presented the formal and objective conditions for further legal education in Slovakia. The participants, through these visits, obtained first-hand knowledge regarding all aspects of the educational process of legal professionals in Slovakia. The Belarusian participants also received direct proposals from the institutions visited, for further educational and project co-operation.
In addition, the participants also met Mr. Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director & Regional Centre Director of the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre. He introduced the work of the Centre and a general overview of UNDP activities in Belarus.
In the closing discussions, final proposals for improving the Belarusian legal educational institutions and educational system were formulated. The Slovak expert team proposed the following recommendations:
- Reorganisation of the internal structure of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University.
- Determination of the exact criteria for the selection of external lecturers in the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals at the Belarusian State University.
- Division of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals from the Belarusian State University.
- Enlargement of the competencies of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals on the performance of the examinations for judicial candidates and candidates of the prosecution.
- Inclusion of the study of foreign languages in the teaching curricula of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals.
- Allocation of financing from the budget of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals, which will be targeted towards a special-purpose – the development of international co-operation.
- Initiate co-operation with Slovak educational institutions, which work in the areaof the educational process of legal professionals.
Other recommendations, which are not directly connected to the life-long educational system of legal professions, but the necessity of their inclusion amongst the other recommendations originating from the seminar/study tour, were:
- Establishment of two accreditation committees as independent state bodies with different competencies.
- Cancellation of the post of "commerce lawyer” and integration of those persons who are in this profession to the profession of "advocate”.
- Ensuring there is a permanent delegate of the Belarusian Republic in the PECO Committee of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).
Despite the fact that the Belarusian system of life-long education of legal professions has a very long history and is very sophisticated and complex, the NISPAcee team of experts hopes that these recommendations will have a positive effect on their system and will inspire the relevant pedagogues and legal lecturers of the Institute for Re-training and Upgrading Qualifications of Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Professionals to develop and improve life-long education in the future.
Opening of the seminar - Jana Oremova, Programme Director / Zuzana Letkova UNDP Project Manager
Seminar - Presentation - Boris Balog, Slovak Legal Expert
Seminar - Presentation - Aurel Pardubsky, Slovak Legal Expert
Seminar - Presentation - Dusan Nitschneider, Slovak Legal Expert
Seminar - Closing discussion and formulating the final improving proposals
Seminar - Awarding the certificates by Ludmila Gajdosova, NISPAcee Executive Director
Seminar - Belarusian participants: Valery Godunov, Aliaksandr Barkou, Ludmila Zaitseva, Iwan Ignattchik, Ivan Kaliadka, Grigori Choumak, Viktar Rakitski, Vladimir Zorin, Aleksandr Yuraga, Halina Hancharova, Halina Hryshkavets, Alena Lipa and Ludmila Gajdosova, NISPAcee Executive Director
Study visits:
UNDP Regional Bratislava Centre - Meeting with Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director & Regional Centre Director and Zuzana Letkova, UNDP Project Manager
UNDP Regional Bratislava Centre - Meeting with Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director & Regional Centre Director and Zuzana Letkova, UNDP Project Manager
UNDP Regional Bratislava Centre - Meeting with Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director & Regional Centre Director
Pan European University - Faculty of Law - Meeting with Július Kováč, Vicedean of Faculty of Law and Ivana Haurelandová, internal graduant
Pan European University - Faculty of Law
Pan European University - Faculty of Law
Academia Istropolitana Nova, Svätý Jur - Meeting with Lucia Bizoňová, Project Manager
Judicial Academy - meeting with Peter Hulla, Director of the Judicial Academy, Miroslav Slašťan, Director of the Department of the European, International Law and Foreign languages and Marek Števček, Director of the Department of the Private Law, Initial Education and Social Science Disciplines
Judicial Academy
Judicial Academy
Slovak Bar Association - Meeting with Ján Havlát, Ondrej Mularčík, Pavol Erben, Marek Števček and Katarína Marečková
Comenius University – Faculty of Law - Meeting with Vlasta Kunova, Vicedean/Director of the Institute of International Relations and Approximation of Law
Comenius University – Faculty of Law