In the framework of the implementation of the project on “Improving women’s access to justice” in five Eastern Partnership Countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), the Council of Europe had approached SEELS to participate with an expert from its own network, who would present the reform experiences on the topic in the countries of South East Europe at the conference. In front of more than 80 participants that attended and represented beneficiary countries of the project, legal training institutions, as well as Council of Europe member States, civil society and other regional and international organisations, Prof. Dr. Karolina Ristova-Aasterud shared the findings and the recommendations of the first and most comprehensive research on the legal aspects of gender equality in South East Europe, including on women in the legal professions, that was conducted by SEELS in 2011, and published as a book in 2012, with a financial support by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany and implemented through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Open Regional Fund for South East Europe-Legal Reform. 

 

Members of the legal professions from the Eastern Partnership countries showed great interest in the situation and the experiences in South East Europe, as well as for the SEELS research book. At SEELS, we hope that this form of cooperation with CoE, and exchange of experiences with the countries of the Eastern Partnership, will continue in the future.