On November 9, 2010, the Civil Society Seminar on the Right to a Fair Trial and Independence of the Judiciary was launched at Golden Tulip Yerevan hotel, which will last until November 10. The aim of the seminar is to enrich existing official EU-Armenia human rights dialogue by creating a space for constructive discussions of academics and number of civil society from both Armenia and the EU. 

The seminar also aims to provide a space for constructive, action-oriented dialogue on human rights issues between European and Armenian academic and NGO communities. The Seminar will encourage academics and members of civil society to feed their views into the EU-Armenia official Human Rights Dialogue and also it will develop links between Armenian and European academics and civil society representatives specializing in human rights.

During the opening of the Seminar the participants expressed their hope that the Seminar will provide an opportunity for open discussions and recommendations for action regarding the implementation of the right to a fair trial and the principle of judicial independence with participants from Armenia and the EU, as well as government officials responsible for human rights. 

A picket organized by Armenian National Congress is planned to take place simultaneously next to the hotel where the Seminar takes place. The aim of participants of the picket is to present the EU guests the situation of the Armenian political prisoners.

Sofya Manukyan

Source: www.hra.am