14-03-2023 15:45
"Continuous training of magistrates is extremely important. Human rights standards are becoming increasingly complex and evolving in parallel with the development of public relations. Here is the great role of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which managed to create a comprehensive environment for developing these professional skills. Thanks to the projects financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, which NIJ implements, Bulgarian magistrates, court officials and other representatives of the professional community will have access in Bulgarian to leading editions and publications related to the implementation of fundamental rights".
This was stated by Minister of Justice Krum Zarkov during a conference where NIJ presented its modern new website and 13 training spaces in the judiciary, built and equipped with the financial support of the NFM.
These activities are part of the "Modern training environment for judges, prosecutors, investigators and other representatives of the professional community" project, financed by the 2014 – 2021 Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
"With the help of our partners from the Norwegian judicial administration, compliance with European institutional practices will be ensured", the Minister said, adding that the Ministry of Justice has an obligation to ensure that the beneficiaries of the 2014-2021 NFM Justice Programme are fully committed and capable of carrying out their projects, and in recent months he has personally seen NIJ's professional work on this project.
"In Bulgaria, effective instruments and permanent capacity to guarantee sustainable judicial training in the field of fundamental rights and the rule of law will remain in use", he added.
During the event, the new NIJ website was demonstrated with a modern look, enriched content and advanced functionalities that allow easy navigation, including from mobile devices.
"Under the project, 13 shared training spaces were built and equipped within the judicial authorities. Planning of trainings in the shared training spaces is underway, specifying experts, training content and audience for each event. The training will start in April 2023", the NIJ Director Miglena Tacheva said.
She added that the Human Rights Forum also has a group for the development of structured training content of self-training resources (manuals, guides and aids) to support the planning and implementation of NIJ's training activities.
"As of March 2023, there will be 126 unique users registered on the online platform of the Human Rights Forum. The first in-person session of the Human Rights Forum is planned to be held on May 2, 2023" , Director Tacheva said.
At the end of this month, two exploratory visits to the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe are being prepared with the assistance and support of judge Yonko Grozev.
The project partner, the Norwegian Judicial Administration, was represented by the Head of the Secretariat, Ivar Arnstad, who stated that "we all have something to learn from each other" and noted the high professionalism in the implementation of the project as a key factor in achieving the objectives of the Justice Programme of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
The President of the court Ms. Magdalina Ivanova and the prosecutors Nina Velichkova and Radoslav Lazarov participated directly from the shared training spaces in the Plovdiv Court of Appeal and the Varna District Prosecutor's Office directly from the project-equipped shared training spaces.