Second European Convention on Human Rights Summer School in Armenia

Details: Published: August 1, 2014

Participants of the summer school in Arzakan

IRZ has held its second summer school on European Union law (EU law) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in Arzakan, Armenia from 14 to 18 July 2014 in cooperation with the Armenian Young Lawyers Association (AYLA).

The participants included young lawyers and law students. AYLA and IRZ conducted a selection process in advance of the event to find the most suitable candidates. Just like last year, there was a very large number of applicants flocking to apply. A total of 30 people attended the summer camp.

As opposed to last year, this year's focus was on the ECHR and filing complaints with the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). There was also an introduction to EU law on both of the first days. In addition to presenting the institutional structure of the European Union (EU) and an overview of the evolution of EU law, there was also a lecture on Armenia's cooperation with the EU held by an AYLA employee at the start of the event. Professor Dr. Carmen Thiele from Viadrina European University Frankfurt (Oder) also presented on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Unions and pointed out the differences between it and the ECHR. The participants then worked on these topics in working groups. The next three days were dedicated to the ECHR, focusing on Article 5 (Liberty and Security), 6 (Fair Trial) and 10 (Freedom of Expression) and the procedure for filing a complaint with the ECtHR. Dr. Michael-Kleine Cosack, a lawyer from Freiburg, and Professor Dr. Michaela Wittinger from the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences started off by presenting on the articles. In the afternoon, the participants looked in working groups into real-life ECtHR cases selected by the speakers and concerning the individual articles and then presented on them.

The participants had lively discussions about the cases and the various points of views and assessments during the individual working groups and the presentation of the results. The experts were always available for questions and were very impressed with the motivation of the participants and the open discussion atmosphere.