The cycle of training for the development of the professional capacities of lawyers on the international and national legal framework for protection from domestic violence continued in June. About 50 lawyers from the region of Mitrovica, licensed by the Kosovo Bar Association (KBA) participated in the training conducted by the EUKOJUST Project Long-Term Expert for Public Legal Education/Domestic Violence and Marginalized Groups, Bardhë Krasniqi. With this training, the number of lawyers prepared for the most competent representation of victims of domestic violence in Kosovo has expanded even more.
The training “The role of lawyers in representing victims of domestic violence”, which was previously held in other regions of Kosovo, aims to develop the soft skills of lawyers to understand the dynamics of domestic violence situations. As in the previous training, this training was organized under the umbrella of the KBA as part of the continuing legal education program.
In an open conversation, the expert Krasniqi discussed in length with lawyers the need to implement human rights standards such as the Istanbul Convention, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the European Convention on Human Rights and the use of the case law of the European Court for Human Rights in the jurisprudence of Kosovo and new cases from the case law of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and the new standards foreseen in the new Code of Criminal Procedure which has started to be implemented a few months ago.
The training raised the standard of practice for lawyers dealing with domestic violence cases, and those dealing with other general cases, by equipping them with the necessary tools to deal with domestic violence or to screen for domestic abuse and to provide appropriate legal advice when domestic violence is identified as a problem.
The participants positively evaluated the training from which they benefited both from a professional point of view and from the trainer’s good experience, and they were all given certificates. The training was organized within the specific objective of the EUKOJUST project to strengthen access to justice for all citizens in Kosovo, especially in the field of domestic violence and vulnerable or marginalized groups. So far, the Project has trained about 360 lawyers in six regions of Kosovo.
