Activity Details (ID# 11357)

Activity Synopsis

The aim of the seminar was to:

- improve media lawyers’ knowledge in cases concerning Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights,
- improve their professional skills in the legal defense of independent media,
- enhance communication between media lawyers in Ukraine.
 

The seminar was well organised. Various documents about the Council of Europe in general, and the European Court of Human Rights and freedom of expression in particular were distributed to the participants (Council of Europe – 800 million Europeans, Short guide to the ECHR, Case law concerning Article 10 of the ECHR, European standards concerning protection of sources, European standards concerning freedom of expression, European standards concerning court reporting).

The interest in the seminar was extremely high. The participants debated practically every issue, in particular the compliance of the Ukrainian Civil Code with the European Convention on Human Rights and new decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. They analysed the cases against Ukraine and discussed how new decisions of the European Court of Human Rights could be used in Ukraine.

The seminar reached the audience it was designed for. It helped to gather the best specialists in media law in Ukraine, while at the same time involving people new to this aria.

The participants of the seminar pointed out that the seminar corresponds to their professional needs and made some remarks about the seminar. In particular they suggested that the representatives of the Ukrainian judicial system and Ukrainian judges should be invited to the seminar and the papers should be available by Internet.

Information about seminar was published in :
«Yuridicheskaya Practika » # 28 (394) 12 July 2005
Internet project ''Telekritika'' http://www.telekritika.kiev.ua/news/?id=23027
«Yurydychna gazeta » #13 (49) 15 July 2005
 

The seminar was very useful for the participants. It helped to increase knowledge and communication between Ukrainian lawyers. An evaluation questionnaire was distributed to the participants at the end of the seminar. The participants of the seminar pointed to the significant importance of such seminars for practicing media lawyers. Each participant who had filled out the evaluation pointed out that the seminar should be recommended to their colleagues.

In was decided during the seminar to hold the next seminar for lawyers on European standards on media and elections. The seminar should be organised before the Ukrainian Parliamentary elections which will take place in March 2006.
 

Media Lawyers from regions and from Kyiv, law students 

Mr Frédéric GRAS, Barrister (France)
Mr Dmytro TRETYAKOV, Lawyer at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights
Ms Valeria LUTKOVSKA, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine and Government Agent of Ukraine before the European Court of Human Rights
Ms Tetyana KOTUZHYNSKA, IREX-Umedia (Ukraine)
Ms Ludmyla OPRYSHKO, Barrister (Ukraine)
Mr Taras SHEVCHENKO, Director Media Law Institute (Ukraine)
Mr Vyacheslav YAKUBENKO, Barrister (Ukraine)
 

Ms Lejla DERVISAGIC, Media Division, Directorate General of Human Rights