Turkey

EU project on “Promoting Civil Society Dialogue in Bars through Legal Education” (2008-2009)

In the period from June 2008 till November 2009, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (UTBA) was the beneficiary of a project financed by a grant from the European Commission. The name of the project was “Promoting Civil Society Dialogue in Bars through Legal Education”.

The main aim of the project was to create a continuous learning program for lawyers in the regional Bars of Turkey through the organisation of interactive training and study visits and through the promotion of networking opportunities. The sustainable objectives of the project included enhanced awareness for the role of continuing professional education, increased cooperation between bar associations and improvement of the quality of legal services in Turkey in alignment with the respective EU standards.

The main partners of the UTBA for this project were the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the Conseil National des Barreaux (CNB, France) and the Law Society of England and Wales (LSEW). Associate project partners, taking part in the majority of the activitie, were the Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag (OeR, Austria), the Consiglio Nazionale Forense (CNF, Italy), the Krajowa Rada Radcòw Prawnych (KRRP, Poland) and the Consejo General de la Abogacìa Espanola (CGAE, Spain). The overall management was entrusted to the UTBA and the CCBE, whereas the LSEW and the CNB building upon their expertise in international legal cooperation projects were responsible for the creation of a learning DVD.

The closing conference of the project took place in Ankara on 24 October 2009. The chair of the conference was Rupert Wolff, former CCBE President and Vice-President of the Austrian Bar Association. Ms. Deren Doğan Yavuz, a representative from the Prime Ministry Secretariat General for EU Affairs of the Republic of Turkey and a representative from the UTBA were present at the conference. The CCBE experts co-chaired the sessions, participated in the discussion and brought their national experience on several topics of the programme: University Education, Professional Training and Continuing Professional Development systems. The discussions were focused in comparing the experience between Turkey and other European countries. About 70 lawyers participated in the conference.