Professional training - references

Technical Assistance for the Preparation of a Recruitment and Training Strategy for the Judiciary - Bulgaria (EuropeAid/113343/D/SV/BG)


The College of Europe is member of a consortium which was selected by EuropeAid to implement Technical Assistance for the Preparation of a Recruitment and Training Strategy for the Judiciary, following an open tender procedure. This project lies under the overall strategy of bringing the professional skills of all members of the judiciary up to EU level by laying the basis for a comprehensive human resources policy for the Bulgarian judiciary.  

Partners

The College of Europe works in partnership with the TMC Asser Institute and the British Council in an ad-hoc created consortium, led by the latter. 

Objectives

More concretely the project pursues the following objectives: 

  • Harmonization of the legal education system in Bulgaria; 

  • Improvement of the systems for selection, evaluation, professional development and qualification of magistrates and for professional development of clerical staff in the judicial institutions; 

  • Development of a system with clear common criteria for recruitment and appointment of magistrates and clerical staff; 

  • Development of a National Training Strategy for the judiciary in Bulgaria; 

  • Pilot training for magistrates and for administrative secretaries of courts. 

Activities

To achieve these goals the activities will be carried out by 7 working groups and two training subgroups, the total workload amounting to more than 600 men/days. 

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the project are the Supreme Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice.
A total of 102 magistrates and 34 administrative secretaries of courts will be trained and/or upgraded.

Additionally, a thorough training needs analysis for judges, adequate curricula and manuals for training of magistrates and clerical staff and a comprehensive training strategy will be in place after completion of the project.

Location & Dates

The training and research activities will take place in Sofia with punctual cooperation with other institutions throughout the country. A study visit to training centres for Judiciary within the EU is also envisaged. 

The programme will extend from June 2003 to February 2005.