Description
"Education for Justice and Democracy - a citizen training program in schools” proposed by the CRPE and Liderjust has started from the latest findings of the judiciary system: at the moment, at least one of six Romanians has a file in courts. What administrative or preventive measures are following the arrests of the anti corruption prosecutors? Only the means of repression - criminal investigations, convictions – are not necessarily the only efficient response to fight, in the long term, a rooted phenomenon. The overall objective: Early prevention of behaviors that generate tolerance to corruption promoting respect for integrity, rule of law and human rights by educational tools dedicated to undergraduate students. During the project, the partners will develop and implement a pilot educational program (national colleges in Bucharest and Ilfov County, Region of Muntenia Sud) targeting 1,000 high school students, who will be trained in teaching educational tools for justice and democracy, by legal practitioners (50 judges and future judges - judges and prosecutors).
Summary of project results
The main objective of the project was to pilot an educational programme for high schools students meant to teach them notions and elements of justice and democracy with the help of legal practitioners. The programme was implemented in national colleges in Bucharest, Ilfov and Southern Muntenia Region for 1,000 high school students from 10th and 11th grades. Fifty judges, future judges and prosecutors were involved in this programme. The pilot programme addressed some major needs for this type of education. These needs had already been detailed and stipulated in inter-institutional agreements between the judicial and educational systems. In the same time, they are detailed in the National Anticorruption Strategy as early prevention tools that promote integrity behaviours, and decrease the tolerance towards corruption. The project partners promoted the “Education for Justice and Democracy Month” campaign, which involved organising 10 interactive workshops in schools, attended by some of the most prominent representatives of the Romanian judicial system, as well as approximately 500 students. The Judicial Education Guide for Students has enjoyed a large support of the media and many of the project’s activities have been mirrored and presented in the local and national media, as well as on the specialised websites. In the framework of the project, the platform designed to promote legal education and the respect for law and democracy was launched. The platform was promoted online and through a social media account and a Facebook group. The results of the project, together with public policy recommendations and best practices for the institutional actors, were included in the final report. The final conference of the project, organized by Romanian Center for European Policies Association and LiderJust, was attended by magistrates, professors, representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Education, as well as from the civil society. During the final conference, the most important results of the project were presented, and options regarding the introduction of legal education in schools and the existent short-term options for continuing the programme were debated.
Summary of bilateral results