OSCE-organized series of study visits for Turkmenistan’s legal experts

ASHGABAT, 23 September 2011 – Training for judges and prosecutors was the focus of an OSCE Centre-organized study trip to Serbia and the Netherlands that concluded in Zutphen, the Netherlands, today.

Representatives of the Justice Ministry, Supreme Court, General Prosecutor's Office, Institute of State and Law under the President of Turkmenistan and National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan took part in the one-week trip organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

In Serbia, the delegation had meetings with the Serbian Judicial Academy and addressed issues related to the creation of this institution, its mandate, capacities and work. Participants also had meetings with the High Judicial Council of Serbia, Public Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of Justice.

"In-depth and diversified training is crucial for advancing the professional skills of judges and public prosecutors, thereby contributing to a high quality justice service,” said Begoña Piñeiro Costas, the Human Dimension Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “This visit showed Turkmenistan representatives the role and mandate of Judicial Training Centres, which provide the initial training for newly appointed judges and prosecutors and in-service training for experienced judges and prosecutors.”

In the Netherlands, the participants visited the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary and learned about the role of this institution in developing and implementing  training programmes for judges, public prosecutors and judicial support staff in the Netherlands. They discussed a wide range of training courses in judicial matters, as well as courses in developing management and other professional skills offered by  this public institution.