Prof. Gagik Ghazinyan, Dean of the Law Faculty at Yerevan State University, IRZ project coordinator Nelly Tumasyan and Anahit Manasyan, a lecturer in the Law Faculty at Yerevan State University and Vice Dean of the Academy of Justice of Armenia (from left to right at the table of speakers) Armenia
From 25 to 29 January 2021, the last of four one-week autumn courses took place as part of the “Supporting young legal talent in Armenia 2020” project, which was financed by the German Foreign Office.
45 students from four Armenian partner universities in the project took part in the event on media law, which had to be postponed at short notice until January 2021. These universities were:
the Faculty of Law at the Yerevan State University,
the French University in Armenia,
the Armenian-Russian University and
the American University.
Armenia
Just like the previous courses, this event also took place in a hybrid format, with participants in Armenia attending in person in a conference room and the two German experts and IRZ representatives joining them online.
The Permanent Representative of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Armenia, Klaus Wendelberger, opened this last event in the series of autumn courses. He underlined the role of the media as a “fourth power” and emphasised the complex and yet important legal framework. Other welcome speeches were given by Frank Hupfeld, IRZ Head of Section, and Prof. Gagik Ghazinyan, Dean of the Law Gaculty at Yerevan State University.
Anahit Manasyan, a lecturer in the department of constitutional law at the law faculty at Yerevan State University and Vice Dean of the Academy of Justice of Armenia went on to give a lecture on the “fundamental issues with media law in the Republic of Armenia”.
Just as for the previous three autumn courses, the first three days of the one-week event were taken up with lectures and discussions. This theoretical part of the course was followed on the last two days by practical work on cases in groups. The students took an active part in the discussions and worked together enthusiastically.
The following speakers from Germany took part in the event:
Dr. Jörg Ukrow, LL.M.Eur., Managing Director of the EMR (Institute of European Media Law) and Deputy Director of the media authority for the federal state of Saarland
Tobias Sommer, LL.M, a lawyer at the “Sommer” law firm, specialising in industrial property rights, copyright law & media law
The themes for the autumn course were:
An introduction to media law
references to European law and constitutional law
the dual broadcasting system in Germany
media operators: their registration, financing and supervision
protecting young people from the media
fake news and disinformation as a legal issue
protecting diversity in the media
Private press and media laws, media laws in the legal system for intellectual property
General privacy rights and legal protection with regards to the media (prohibition of censorship; claims arising from violating property rights and privacy rights; dispute proceedings)
Laws governing print and visual reporting; introduction to copyright (significance of copyright; copyrighted works, copyright contract law; ancillary copyrights (protection period)
Three other autumn courses had already taken place as part of this project. These covered the following topics:
The project was overall a great success and was met with a great deal of interest from the students. This is particularly remarkable in view of the current political developments in Armenia.
About the project
The “Supporting young legal talent in Armenia 2020” project was financed by the German Foreign Office to support the “Development of the partnership with civil society in Eastern Partnership countries and Russia”. The project was aimed at law students, who will play a key role as disseminators in shaping the future justice system in Armenia. The four one-week autumn courses taught young people about four key areas of the law: human rights, constitutional law, European law and media law. Discussions and workshops focussed on the basics of these areas of the law and their application within the Armenian legal context.
Dean of the law faculty at Yerevan State University, Prof. Gagik Ghazinyan (centre), during his lecture. Vice Dean Prof. Anna Margaryan (on the left), lecturer Sose Barseghyan (on the right), on her left, Nelly Tumasyan, IRZ project coordinator in Armenia Armenia
From 9 to 13 November 2020, the first of four one-week autumn courses took place as part of the “Supporting young legal talent in Armenia 2020” project, which is being financed by the German Foreign Office.
32 students from four Armenian partner universities in the project took part in the event on human rights. These universities are:
the Faculty of Law at the Yerevan State University,
the French University in Armenia,
the Armenian-Russian University and
the American University.
The event took place in a hybrid format, with participants in Armenia attending in person in a conference room and German experts and IRZ representatives joining them online.
The Permanent Representative of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Armenia, Klaus Wendelberger, opened the series of events. Other welcome speeches were given by Frank Hupfeld, IRZ Head of Section, and professor Gagik Ghazinyan, Dean of the law faculty at Yerevan State University. Sose Barseghyan, a lecturer from the department of constitutional law for the protection of human rights in Armenia at the Yerevan State University, went on to present the current situation in Armenia.
The first three days of the one-week event were taken up with lectures and discussions, while the students worked on cases in groups for the last two days.
The following speakers from Germany took part in the event:
Prof. Dr. Carmen Thiele, European University Viadrina
Prof. Michaela Wittinger, Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences
Stefan von Raumer, a lawyer specialising in constitutional law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
The themes for the first autumn course were:
an introduction to protecting human rights
the right to respect for private and family life
freedom of thought, belief and religion
freedom of expression
the ECHR: Origins, content, significance for international and national laws
the assessment of violations of the convention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR): Scope of protection, intervention, limiting provisions
the prohibition of discrimination (article 14 ECHR) and the general principle of the 12th additional protocol
complaints submitted to the ECtHR
human rights - the practical aspect from a lawyer's point of view
how to draw up a complaint to submit to the ECtHR
The students were very active and committed to the discussions and group work during the autumn course. The event was so successful that some interested parties signed up to subsequent courses even before the first instalment was over. This is particularly remarkable in view of the current political developments and recent events in Armenia. The project will continue with three more autumn courses:
European law: 16 to 20 November 2020
constitutional law: 23 to 27 November 2020
media law: 25 to 29 January 2021
About the project
The “Supporting young legal talent in Armenia 2020” project is being financed by the German Foreign Office to support the “Development of the partnership with civil society in Eastern Partnership countries and Russia” and is aimed at law students from the above-mentioned partner universities in the project. After all, law students will play a key role as disseminators in shaping the future justice system in Armenia. The four one-week autumn courses will teach young people about four key areas of the law: human rights, constitutional law, European law and media law. Discussions and workshops will focus on the basics of these areas of the law and their application within the Armenian legal context.
Artak Haratyunyan, First Deputy Director of the Penitentiary Service at the Ministry of Justice; IRZ expert Thomas Müller; Arpine Sarsgyan, Head of Department of Prison Policy at the Ministry of Justice; IRZ expert Heinz Brüche; Nelly Tumasyan, IRZ project coordinator in Armenia (from right to left) Armenia
On 5 March 2020, a closing conference was held in Yerevan to mark the end of the pilot project for penal institutions, which began in 2016. The IRZ was commissioned to lead the project by the Penitentiary Service at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. Under the title “Practical issues in prisons: the development of customised concepts to deal with the most urgent issues at four prisons in Armenia”, the project included workshops, expert talks and advice on the introduction of modern sentence planning and treatment methods at prisons in Armavir, Abovyan, Artik and Sevan. Around forty employees from the four prisons took part in the conference, as well as:
Artak Haratyunyan, First Deputy Director of the Penitentiary Service at the Ministry of Justice,
Gohar Simonyan, Head of the Department for the Prevention of Mistreatment and Torture at the Ombudsman’s office, and
Gayane Hovakimyan, Deputy Director of the Centre for the Implementation of Legal Education and Rehabilitation Programmes (SNCO).
The conference was opened by the Head of Department for Prison Policy at the Armenian Ministry of Justice, Arpine Sarsgyan, and Amalia Wuckert from the IRZ. Afterwards, Ruben Darbinyan, Chief of Staff at the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice, outlined the current situation in Armenian prisons.
The IRZ experts Thomas Müller, a senior government official and Director of the Karlsruhe prison, and Heinz Brüche, Head of Training for law enforcement services in Baden-Württemberg, presented the overall project and reported on the work carried out within the project. Afterwards, the representatives of the various working groups presented the work carried out during the workshops and the results for the relevant prisons.
The following issues were discussed:
How has the prison actually benefited from the project?
Which measures have been introduced in the prison as a result of the project?
Which measures are planned for further impementation?
Which other measures would be important for achieving the objectives set by European targets?
What are the requirements in terms of personnel and resources for implementing these measures in the prison?
What other requirements need to be considered, with a view to future cooperation with European partners?
During their speeches and contributions to discussions, all the participants stressed the considerable importance of the project for Armenia. The Armenians expressed the wish for more in-depth training for psychologists and social workers at the prisons on the implementation and application of standardised diagnosis procedures and treatment methods. It was also suggested that the same project be carried out as basic training at four other prisons.
Background of the pilot project
During expert discussions held in Yerevan in July 2016 to establish the cooperation between the German and Armenian prison authorities, plans were drawn up for a major project to cover four selected prisons. These discussions were attended by the IRZ Head of Section and a German expert, as well as the Head of the Penitentiary Service at the Armenian Ministry of Justice, the Head of the Ombudsman’s office and the Directors of the two prisons in Armavir and Abovyan.
Within the framework of this project, several workshops took place at the four selected prisons – Armavir, Abovyan, Artik and Sevan. Those involved in the project at these prisons also held expert talks, took advice on weak areas and developed joint strategies.
The main topics addressed during the workshops were:
rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners
risk management and evaluation methods
support and therapy options available in penal institutions.
reorganisation of quarantine stations in intake divisions to include diagnosis of criminogenic factors and establish sentence planning
introduction of treatment measures to improve criminal prognosis
management structures in prisons and delegation of responsibility
creation of work and leisure opportunities for prisoners
The German experts Thomas Müller and Heinz Brüche were appointed by the IRZ to lead the workshops, during which prison staff from the prisons concerned worked on suggestions for improving the prisons, which were complemented by the experts’ recommendations.
