Leiden University successfully hosts the Matra Rule of Law Training Programme
From 18 March till 29 March 2024, a group of 28 civil servants and policy makers from pre-accession countries participated in the Matra Rule of Law Training on the Management of Borders organized and hosted by Leiden University in its campuses in Leiden and the Hague.
From 18 March till 29 March 2024, a group of 28 civil servants and policy makers from pre-accession countries participated in the Matra Rule of Law Training on the Management of Borders organized and hosted by Leiden University in its campuses in Leiden and the Hague.
A second Matra Rule of Law training took place, again in Leiden and the Hague, from 10 June until 21 June 2024, but this time hosting 30 policy makers and civil servants in the field of administration of justice, with a special focus on criminal law. The group included judges, prosecutors, members of judicial academies, high judicial councils, civil servants from Ministries of Justice and EU affairs in the target countries.
The purpose of the four-year Matra Rule of Law Training Programme is to strengthen institutional capacity in the field of rule of law within government organisations in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. It equips participants working in the government sector with the knowledge and skills needed to drive reforms in their respective countries. The programme is financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a budget of €6,460,000, and is administered on behalf of the Ministry by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Its implementation is entrusted to a consortium of three organizations, which comprises Leiden University, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and the Hague Academy for Local Governance. Dr. Darinka Piqani (Europa Institute) is the academic coordinator for Leiden and Prof. Rick Lawson (Europa Institute) is part of the Steering Committee of the project.
During the Management of Borders training, participants followed multiple lectures from distinguished experts from the Law Faculty of Leiden University, from other universities in the Netherlands and experts from organizations working in the field of management of migration, asylum and human trafficking. The training was enriched with various skills workshops and study visits such as the one to the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) in the Hague. In addition, on 25 March 2024, participants visited Brussels and attended presentations at the European Parliament and the European Commission on issues such as the new Pact on Migration and Asylum and the EU enlargement policy in the region.
In the Administration of Justice training, participants attended lectures on the legal and judicial system in the Netherlands with a focus on the criminal law system, alternative sentencing, digitalization and use of AI in courts, the relationship between the minister of justice and courts, judicial integrity, impartiality of courts, the role and position of judicial councils, the role of judicial culture in the administration of justice etc. These lectures were complemented with skills workshops and various study visits such as, for instance, the visit to Eurojust, the Dutch Supreme Court, the Dutch Council of State, the International Court of Justice etc.
Besides the busy program, there was also time for a visit to the Movies that Matter Festival in The Hague and a boat tour through the idyllic canals of Leiden.
At the end of both trainings, participants presented their Back Home Action Plans which consist in concrete ideas and actions on how to address specific problems in the field of the training that participants have identified as part of their professional context.
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Management of Borders training: lecture by Dr. Mark Klaassen -
Management of Borders training: lecture by Prof. Rick Lawson -
Participants of the Management of Borders training after a boat tour in Leiden -
Participants of the Management of Borders training during the visit at the European Commission -
Management of Borders training: lecture by Prof. Conny Rijken, Dutch national rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children -
Administration of Justice training: workshop on organizational culture by Dr. Florian Theissen -
Administration of Justice training: lecture by Egbert Myjer, former Dutch judge at the European Court of Human Rights -
Administration of Justice training: lecture at the European Commission on EU standards of judicial independence -
Administration of Justice training: visit at Eurojust, the Hague -
Administration of Justice training: visit at the International Court of Justice, the Hague -
Administration of Justice training: visit at the Dutch Council of State -
Administration of Justice training: final day, presentation of Back Home Action Plans