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Description
Human rights education of young professionals is more than urgent in order to improve the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the application of international standards in the field, particularly in view of the situation in the country in general and some alarming trends in the EU (e.g. Hungary and Poland). The project strives to use regular training of junior judges, prosecutors and lawyers in the main standards of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms with emphasis on the practical aspects in order to raise their knowledge and skills for human rights protection and support them in their work. The project plans to carry out 12 sessions of lectures and one session of public speaking lectures and 12 moot court competitions on the main standards for protection of human rights. We also plan to revise the Guide on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms developed by the Foundation and add 4 new topics so that the guide can serve as a main learning aid for both learners and professionals and fill in to some extent the gaps in law education related to human rights. The proposed activities will also help create a community of professionals involved with human rights issues, who can continue supporting the cause of protection of the rule of law in their daily work and will improve the rule of law and democratic values in the country in the long run.
Summary of project results
Given the significant deterioration in respect for the principles of the rule of law , democracy and fundamental rights, including the independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers, the fight against corruption and media freedom in Bulgaria, the need for meaningful human rights training for young legal professionals has become increasingly urgent. Conventional legal education in Bulgaria does not include sufficient familiarity with international human rights standards; therefore, law graduates are not familiar with human rights and do not know how to apply international standards in their practice. Therefore, the main problem that the project aimed to help solve is the quality training of young professionals on human rights.
The ACF/885 Human Rights Academy project trained 30 young professionals: judges, prosecutors and lawyers, on international standards for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The training consisted of 13 lectures (12 on topics related to fundamental rights and freedoms and 1 on rhetoric) and the conduct of 12 mock trials through which the participants practiced what they had learned during the lectures. The lectures, which were held from January 2023 to April 2024, were: "Prohibition of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment", "Right to Life", "Terrorism", "Right to Liberty and Security", "Freedom of Speech or Expression", "Protection against Domestic and Gender-Based Violence", "Rights of LGBTI Persons", "Right to Respect for Private and Family Life, the Home and the Confidentiality of Correspondence", "Rhetoric", "Civil Forfeiture Issues. The right to peaceful enjoyment of property under Article 1, Protocol 1 of the ECHR", "Rights of asylum seekers", "Rights of migrant and unaccompanied children" and "Environmental rights". The mock trials, that were conducted from January 2023 to April 2024, were: "Prohibition of Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment", "Right to Life", "Terrorism", "Right to Liberty and Security", "Freedom of Speech or Expression", "Protection against Domestic and Gender-Based Violence", "Rights of LGBTI Persons", "Right to Respect for Private and Family Life, the Home and the Confidentiality of Correspondence", "Civil Forfeiture Issues. The right to peaceful enjoyment of property under Article 1, Protocol 1 of the ECHR", "Rights of asylum seekers", "Rights of migrant and unaccompanied children" and "Environmental rights". Another activity of the project was the updating and completion of the Handbook on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms as an additional training tool for the participants. Eight topics were updated: "Prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment", "Right to life", "Terrorism", "Right to liberty and security", "Freedom of speech (or freedom of expression)", "Right to respect for private and family life, home and the secrecy of correspondence", "Right to peaceful enjoyment of property under Article 1, Protocol 1 of the ECHR" and "Rights related to the environment". 5 new topics have been added to the Handbook: ''Protection against domestic and gender-based violence'', ''Rights of LTTBTI persons'', ''Rights of asylum seekers'', ''Rights of migrant and unaccompanied children'' and ''Protection against hate speech''. One final workshop was held, where a simulation process was conducted with the participants, which included a case study covering the topics covered during the Academy. Throughout the project, updates were posted on the BHRL website and Facebook page about the activities carried out.
The main outcome of the project is that a community of young professionals working in the field of law has been created who are familiar with international human rights standards, who will strive to apply these standards in their practice and who will continue to exchange experiences and professional knowledge in this field. The updated and expanded Handbook on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms will continue to be a practical and accessible tool for raising awareness among legal practitioners of the latest developments in the practice of the European institutions in this area.