International Defence Counsel Training Programme

Thursday, 27 April 2017

Dear Members,

We are pleased to announce that the UIA has partnered with the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, in launching a new, globally oriented training programme for the promotion and protection of defence rights and fundamental human rights: the International Defence Counsel Training Programme.  This is part of a global effort to enhance defence rights in the international criminal justice chain.

This Programme is specifically designed for defence lawyers, international jurists and in-house counsel dealing with defence rights before international and national courts, as well as in the context of international investigations into transnational crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and cybercrime.

The Programme has an outstanding Academia of world-renowned practitioners and jurists whose expertise, patronage and prestige will ensure the highest standards across all aspects of the Programme.  Members of the Academia also serve as lecturers and academic advisers.

Details on the Programme, its Academia and a calendar of training courses can be found at the website.  We suggest that you visit the website to follow updates on the training courses: http://internationaldefencecounsel.siracusainstitute.org.

Together with the UIA, other partners in the Programme are the Association Internationale de Droit Pénal (AIDP), the International Criminal Justice Consortium (ICJC), the Centre d’Etudes sur la Sécurité Internationale et le Coopérations Européennes (CESICE) of the University of Grenoble, and the Italian Scuola Superiore dell’Avvocatura (SSA). We note that the SSA will ensure that its members receive continuing legal education (CLE) credit for participation in the Programme’s training courses.  The Siracusa Institute is in discussions with other national Bar Associations and Law Societies to ensure that their members can also participate in the Programme in order to meet their respective CLE requirements.

Attached to this notice is the call for applications and syllabus of the introductory course, Fundamentals on Defence Rights before International Courts. This course will be held in Siracusa, Italy from 15-19 May 2017.  A senior member of the UIA has agreed to be a lecturer in this important course.  We also note that UIA members will have the opportunity to participate in the course at a discounted registration fee.

You are warmly invited to apply for the Programme’s inaugural Fundamentals Course, and to distribute the attached information to your relevant networks.

The UIA and the Siracusa Institute will share regular updates on the development of the Programme and its courses, but we encourage you to follow our website and subscribe to the Programme’s newsletter.

Best regards,

Union Internationale des Avocats

25, rue du Jour - 75001 Paris - France

Tel : +33 1 44 88 55 66 - Fax : +33 1 44 88 55 77

Web : www.uianet.org