PRESS RELEASE
Skopje, 21 June 2016
Second project quarter successfully completed!
The Second quarter of implementation of the EU funded twinning project “Strengthening the Rule of the Law” covered the period April to June 2016 and has been brought to a fruitful end. Key achievements are the successful organisation of the Kick-off event and the 1st Steering Committee Meeting. Member-state short-term experts were engaged to assist the Macedonian colleagues in eight different project activities. The first study visit to EU MS was organised in Latvia where 7 beneficiary visitors had exchanged useful experiences and good practices with their hosts. During the same period the project web page content was launched on the web site of the beneficiary institution.
The Beneficiaries under the Project are the Macedonian Ministry of Justice, the Bureau for representation before European Court of Human Rights and the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors.
The overall objective of the Project is to support the justice sector institutions in consolidating the rule of law by strengthening their capacities and by assisting in alignment of the national law with the European Union acquis and key human rights instruments of the Council of Europe. The implementation period of the Project is 21 months (from December 2015 to September 2017). The total budget financing of the Project amounts to EUR 1 000 000. The Project is entirely financed by the European Union.
The first Project Steering Committee meeting took place on April 14, 2016, covering the issues concerning the Project implementation progress. During the meeting the work plan for the activities for the coming months of the Project was updated. The Project Kick-off meeting took place on April 15, 2016 where the representatives from Latvia, Croatia and the Beneficiary country including the national Ministers of Justice and other authorities of the Project were involved and participated. The aim of the event was to provide greater public awareness of the Project and the main results of the Project. The event was attended by the local mass media and the representatives of the Delegation of European Union to the Beneficiary country, thus enhancing the cooperation between Latvia, Croatia and the Beneficiary country (to see pictures from the Project Kick-off meeting, please click here). In addition to the above, during the quarter experts from Latvia and Croatia have ensured the implementation of the activities within Component No 1 and Component No 3:
- Screening of the existing legal framework and implementation procedure of the current free legal aid system in civil, criminal and administrative matters as well as identifying shortcomings and deficits and analysis of the needs of different target groups was made.
- Identification was made and proposition of best EU practices and possible innovations, including IT, that could improve the effectiveness of the national free legal aid system was given.
- Developments of tailored made recommendations and guidelines for the successful functioning of the free legal aid services ensuring that the legal aid system is effective, accountable and transparent as well as assistance in drawing up amendments in the Law for free legal aid was provided.
- Assistance, provision of best practices as well as recommendations regarding the overall centralizations of IT coordination in the justice sector was delivered.
- Recommendations aiming to strengthen the functionality of current system for execution of the ECtHR judgments and state representation before the ECtHR were drafted.
For information relating to this Press Release please contact Ms Vineta Krutko, MS RTA. Tel: +389 (0)72 266 114. E-mail: Vineta.Krutko@tm.gov.lv or Ms Maruta Jēkabsone, Senior Desk Officer of the Project Implementation Division of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia. Tel: +371 67036862. E-mail: Maruta.Jekabsone@tm.gov.lv