Leiden University hosts successful Matra Rule of Law Training Programme
Between 18 and 29 March 2024, a group of 28 civil servants and policymakers from pre-accession countries participated in the Matra Rule of Law Training Programme on the Management of Borders. This event was organised and hosted by Leiden University at its campuses in Leiden and The Hague.
A second Matra Rule of Law training programme also took place in Leiden and The Hague between 10 and 21 June 2024. This second programme hosted 30 policymakers 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 and civil servants from Ministries of Justice and EU affairs in the target countries.
The aim of the four-year Matra Rule of Law Training Programme is to strengthen institutional capacity in the field of the rule of law within government organisations in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. It equips participants working within government with the knowledge and skills required to drive reform 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). A consortium of three organisations, which comprises Leiden University, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and the Hague Academy for Local Governance are responsible for its implementation. Dr Darinka Piqani (Europa Institute) is the academic coordinator for Leiden and Professor Rick Lawson (Europa Institute) is part of the project's steering committee.
During the Management of Borders training, participants attended multiple lectures given by distinguished experts from Leiden Law School, other Dutch universities and experts from organisations in the field of migration management, asylum and human trafficking. The programme was enriched with a number of skills workshops and study visits to the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) in The Hague. On 25 March, participants visited Brussels and attended presentations at the European Parliament and the European Commission on 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, digitalisation and the 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 and the role of judicial culture in the administration of justice. These lectures were complemented with skills workshops and study visits to Eurojust, the Dutch Supreme Court, the Dutch Council of State and the International Court of Justice.
Despite the busy programme, time was set aside 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 each training programme, the participants presented their Back Home Action Plans containing concrete ideas and actions to tackle specific problems covered in their training, which participants identified using their professional knowledge.
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Management of Borders training: lecture by Dr Mark Klaassen -
Management of Borders training: lecture by Professor Rick Lawson -
Participants in the Management of Borders training after a boat tour through Leiden -
Participants in the Management of Borders training during a visit to the European Commission -
Management of Borders training: lecture by Professor Conny Rijken, Dutch National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children -
Administration of Justice training: workshop on organisational culture by Dr Florian Theissen -
Administration of Justice training: lecture by Egbert Myjer, former 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 to Eurojust, The Hague -
Administration of Justice training: visit to the International Court of Justice, The Hague -
Administration of Justice training: visit to the Dutch Council of State -
Administration of Justice training: final day, presentation of Back Home Action Plans