organised by the University of Gdańsk – in Gdańsk and online

Framework

This conference and workshop are offered within the European Commission’s funded project TRIIAL 2 – TRust, Independence, Impartiality and Accountability of Legal professionals under the EU Charter (project no. 101089737, JUST-JTRA-EJTR-AG-2020). The TRIIAL 2 Project provides training activities and tools for judges, attorneys, and prosecutors on the European rule of law, mutual trust, judicial independence, impartiality and accountability (see the dedicated website here).

Target group

Judges, judicial trainees, clerks, lawyers working for the NGOS, public prosecutors, attorneys, legal advisers and other legal professionals and policy makers from European Union (EU) countries. The training will be in English and opened to those with both basic and experienced knowledge of EU law and ECHR

The Workshop will host 40 participants, of which 15 will be in person and 25 online.

The group of accepted in person participants will consist of 8 domestic and 7 foreigner
legal professionals.

Participation is free of charge

For the 15 in-person participants, the travel, accommodation and meals at the venue are covered by the organizer.

Participants will be provided with certificates of participation.

Application

The deadline for the submission of online applications is 5 January 2025.

Submit your application, including the documents mentioned below to Dr Marcin Michalak at Marcin.Michalak@ug.edu.pl

You should mention in the title of your email whether you want to participate in-person or online. You are invited to submit their applications to

For any questions, clarifications etc. please contact Dr Anna Podolska at Anna.Podolska@ug.edu.pl

The following documents shall be attached to the application:

1. CV in English (including a section on proof of knowledge of English)
2. A short motivation letter (max 2 pages) outlining the candidate’s specific reasons for applying to the Conference and Workshop (please describe how your professional activity correlates to the conference’s and workshop’s field of interest and how you could both benefit from and contribute to the Conference and the Workshop)

Selection procedure

The assessment of applications will be based on the following criteria:

– Gender and age balanced;
– Geographically balanced;
– Balance in the judicial hierarchy: both higher and lower instance courts shall be represented among selected participants;
– Trainers will have priority in selection (please refer to relevant training responsibilities in your CV);
– Knowledge of and experience with fundamental rights and rule of law issues;
– Good knowledge of English;

Single participation within the same Training Project (TRIIAL 2): in principle, no participant can take part in more than one Workshop among those offered within the TRIIAL 2 Project.

Methodology

You will learn through a 2 – day hybrid conference and workshop of lectures and discussion sessions. The workshop part will allow the participants to discuss real legal issues through a case – based analysis and engage in a more direct interactions with fellow participants.

All participants will receive preparatory materials including the thematic booklet on the rule of law, recorded lectures and casenotes with the analysis of the relevant national and supranational jurisprudence.

Objectives of the Conference and the Workshop

After the completion of the training you should be able:

– to better understand and contextualize the main legal issues relating to the European rule of law and its operation throughout the European public space;
– to acquire the knowledge and the ability to assess the pros and cons and modalities of of various European legal strategies to defend the rule of law and to engage the rule of law arguments;
– to understand the threats to the rule of law from outside and from within the judiciary, and your own role in upholding this fundamental EU value;
– to be able to ascertain whether the solution of the pending case requires the involvement of the Court of Justice through the reference for preliminary ruling;
– to become part of a network of legal practitioners, activists, and scholars dealing with similar issues that could provide support for future questions.