Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Course for Civil Society in Post-Transition Environments
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Course for Civil Society in Post-Transition Environments
CEELI Training 2021
July 27 – August 19, 2021
The purpose of this course is to provide diverse civil society actors in Ethiopia and The Gambia with foundational knowledge of the effects of corruption on the functioning of government, particularly as it relates to abuses of institutional power.
The effects of these abuses often affect the fundamental human rights of every citizen, as well as the economic growth of the country and financial interests of all members of society. By the conclusion of the course, participants will have received a primer on how they can effectively advance greater integrity and accountability within their own government, judicial, civic, and private sector structures as it relates to anticorruption and anti-money laundering.
COURSE STRUCTURE
COURSE MODULES
Module 1 – Understanding the International Legal Framework around Corruption and Money Laundering
Module 2 – Public Sector Corruption: A Multi-Level Approach
Module 3 – Civil Society Engagement and Action
Module 4 – Coordinated Action: Planning and Launching Your Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Advocacy
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The CEELI Institute's 2017 Annual Report is now available! Take a peek and see what we've been up to in a busy 2017... [gview file="https://ceeliinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/compressed1CEELI_Annual_2017_Final-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf"]
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Mark your calendars to join us in Prague, at the Villa Grebovka, on July 9-10, 2017 for the CEELI Institute‘s Annual Meeting. Once again we look forward to bringing together a diverse cross-section of academicians, government officials and experts, as well as our board members, funders, partners, and friends, to discuss some of the most pressing issues we face in our efforts to advance the Rule of Law in ever more challenging environments. The gathering allows us the opportunity to convene prominent thought leaders from the international development community for frank discussions on the critical challenges facing our region as it struggles with war, corruption, and the rise of illiberal regimes which question the value of democratic transitions. The program...
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SPRING COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED: The CEELI Institute´s Spring Course on Investigating and Prosecuting Public Corruption – April 24-28, 2017 – Prague
By CEELI
/ February 9, 2017
The CEELI Institute is delighted to announce a spring session of our signature anti-corruption course on the investigation and prosecution of public corruption cases. This five-day, highly interactive training provides participants with a comprehensive framework for initiating and pursuing official corruption cases. The course will take place at the Villa Grebovka in Prague the week of April 24-28, 2017, and is designed to walk participants through the investigation of a case involving official corruption. Participants will work in small groups with a hypothetical case to develop their own investigation strategy, learning to use time-tested investigative tools and develop practical skills along the way. Participant efforts are augmented by expert guidance and instruction. Over the course of five days, students will: •...
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The CEELI Institute 2016 Annual Report is now available!
By CEELI
/ February 8, 2017
The mission of the CEELI Institute is to advance the rule of law in the world in order to: protect fundamental rights and individual liberties; promote transparent, incorruptible, accountable governments; lay the foundation for economic opportunity and growth; and encourage peaceful resolution of disputes
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Supporting the Work of the CEELI Institute
By CEELI
/ December 12, 2016
Dear Friend of the CEELI Institute, In 2016, the work of the CEELI Institute in advancing the rule of law continued to change individual lives, and through them, the world. Over the past year, for example, CEELI brought young Israeli and Palestinian lawyers together to sit side by side to discuss their challenges and hopes for the future; for most, such an opportunity was unprecedented. As one young Israeli lawyer said at the outset, "before this I had never met a Palestinian." When defense lawyers in Eurasia received death threats for their work, CEELI was there to offer them shelter and respite. A young prosecutor from the Balkans who participated in our intensive anti-corruption training reported that "my skills for investigating frequent acts...
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Anti-Corruption Programs at the Institute: Fall Course Wrap-up
By CEELI
/ December 2, 2016
From November 14th-18th, 2016 the CEELI Institute organized its sixth round of training on “Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption.” The interactive five-day program brought together an extraordinary faculty line-up consisting of some of the world’s most experienced anti-corruption prosecutors, forensic accountants, and practitioners including Andrew Levchuk, former DoJ officer and current counsel to Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP, Jagvinder Brar and Michael Peer, forensic accountants with KPMG, and John Griffith, Associate General Counsel in the Office of Global Compliance at Weatherford. Together they provided participants with a comprehensive framework for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. The program was attended by 32 prosecutors, investigators, and judges from six countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine – as...
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Letter from the Executive Director
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2016
The CEELI Institute has long been a leader in innovative and effective judicial programming. We continue to work with judges from around the world, through programs designed to promote judicial independence, strengthen judicial accountability and improve judicial performance. We also provide a unique venue to foster judicial exchanges and engagement, in a safe, comfortable and neutral setting at our headquarters in Prague. As a result of our almost two decades or work, the CEELI Institute maintains deep connections with the judiciaries of the region and beyond. Among our representative projects for 2017 will be our continued support for the Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe, to be hosted next year by the Supreme Court of Hungary. We...
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CEELI Develops Tools for Judges
By CEELI
/ November 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute continues its work with its core working group of judges from across Central and Eastern Europe to revise, expand and edit the Institute’s Manual on Independence, Impartiality and Integrity of Justice. The Manual is a unique tool, representing a systematic survey of virtually all relevant international standards applicable to the function, performance and operation of the judiciary. It cross-references over 130 international conventions and other sources of public international law, organizing relevant sources according to thematic categories of interest and use to judges in their work. The tool is, in short, a map to the judicial profession and the international standards that underpin it. The Manual represents an extraordinary commitment of time and effort by the Working...
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Empowering Tunisian Judges
By CEELI
/ November 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute is continuing its long work with the Tunisian judiciary, now focusing on a selected group of the most proactive judges from the sessions conducted over the past three years (2013-2015). This new phase of our engagement addresses public trust in the judiciary - a topic selected by the judges themselves. The participating judges have prioritized several aspects crucial for public trust in the judiciary, including relationship with the media, and greater outreach and educational programs for university and high school students. The judges are also committed to work on a judicial code of conduct, which they recognize will be helpful tool in garnering public trust. CEELI has worked with the judges to create relevant working groups, and...
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Judges and the Media
By CEELI
/ November 29, 2016
An increasingly important aspect of the CEELI Institute’s continuing engagement with judiciaries across the region involves exploration of the relationships between the judiciary and the media. Discussions and materials addressing this topic is in high demand among judges who are faced with increasing media pressures, especially while handling political sensitive cases and high level corruption cases. Judges must also increasingly negotiate the potential pitfalls surrounding the use of social media platforms. Judges are concerned about their rights to privacy in an age of increasing media attention, and are also unclear on where the boundaries should be set in dealing with the press. They are also challenged in balancing the public’s interest against the rights of the parties before the court....
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Promoting Judicial Independence in Central and Eastern Europe
By CEELI
/ November 29, 2016
As part of our continuing engagement with the judiciaries from across the Central and East European region, the CEELI Institute recently co-sponsored an event, in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Macedonia addressing the ongoing challenges to judicial independence across the region—both within and without the EU. The program, held in late October, at Lake Ohrid, drew over 70 participants, including judges from Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia and Slovenia. The event provided a critically important platform for judges to exchange views and experiences in how best to respond to increasing external pressures on the judiciary. Particular attention was devoted to how judges can most effectively cope with pressures from the media, from the government...
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Supporting Judges on the Front Lines in Combating Terrorism
By CEELI
/ November 28, 2016
In October, the CEELI Institute continued its ongoing efforts to support judges in countries on the front lines in the fight against terrorism, with support from the US Department of State’s Counterterrorism Bureau. This latest program brought together judges from the Middle East and North Africa--specifically, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Lebanon--along with judicial counterparts from the US and Germany for the intensive three day exchange on useful practices for judges faced with adjudicating cases involving terrorism and national security issues. Our program curriculum again followed the format we developed for previous trainings provided to judges and prosecutors in the Western Balkans, relying on The Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses, a Good Practice...
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Justice Kennedy Joins CEELI/IBA Event
By CEELI
/ October 6, 2016
The CEELI Institute was delighted to join with the IBA in hosting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on September 23, in Washington, DC, at the IBA Rule of Law Forum. CEELI Institute Founder and Board Chair Homer Moyer moderated a discussion with the Justice on issues related to the role of the judiciary, the meaning of the Rule of Law, and the application of international law as a reference point for the Court. The Justice also took questions from the audience. It was an inspirational and informative session, and we were thrilled to be a part of it.
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NGOs as Judicial Watchdogs: A New Report and Recommendations
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute is gratified to have participated in the preparation of a landmark effort to promote and define the role of NGOs in monitoring court proceedings and the function of the judiciary. The final project report, NGOs and the Judiciary: Watchdog Activities, Interactions, Collaboration, and Communication, was recently published by the Warsaw based Polish NGO, the Institute for Law and Society (INPRIS). The publication represents the culmination of a two-year effort, funded by the International Visegrad Fund (www.visegradfund.org) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. The CEELI Institute was one of six key NGOS contributing to this effort, along with counterparts in Poland, Slovakia, Albania, Macedonia and Serbia. The report establishes key recommendations and good...
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CEELI at The Hague: An Update on CEELI Judicial Tools
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
CEELI Institute Executive Director Christopher Lehmann and Judge Cristi Danilet from Romania recently led a panel at the Annual Conference of the International Association of Administrative Courts (IACA) held in the The Hague in May, where they were asked to present the CEELI Institute’s The Manual on Independence, Impartiality and Integrity of Justice. The Manual is a unique tool, representing a systematic survey of virtually all relevant international standards applicable to the function, performance and operation of the judiciary. It cross-references over 130 international conventions and other sources of public international law, organizing relevant sources according to thematic categories of interest and use to judges in their work. The tool is, in short, a map to the judicial profession and...
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US and Pakistani Judges Meet at the CEELI Institute
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute was delighted to recently welcome our first-ever delegation from Pakistan. In late August, the US Embassy in Islamabad (INL), the US Department of Justice (OPDAT) and the US Federal Judicial Center organized a joint exchange at the Institute bringing together Judges of the Lahore High Court (Punjab Province) and the US federal judiciary for several days of in-depth dialogue on issues of case management and court administration. Among those participating in the discussions was Federal Judicial Center Director, Judge Jeremy Fogel.
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Voices of the Next Generation: Bringing Change to the Middle East
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute is delighted to be able to announce the continuation of its groundbreaking program bringing together young lawyers from the Middle East to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role that international law can play in its resolution. This program has been generously supported by the International Bar Association for a second year. The program extension will allow us to continue to bring together the diverse group of young lawyers on a quarterly basis at the Institute in Prague, during which participants are able to speak honestly, exchange views, examine applicable principles of international law, and jointly explore difficult, emotional issues affecting Israel and Palestine. This program was highlighted last year at the IBA’s annual Rule of Law...
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Belgrade: The 2016 Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
The CEELI Institute was delighted to again support the work of the Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe, which was hosted in June of this year, in Belgrade, by the Supreme Cassational Court of Serbia. The Conference is now a self-sustaining body that has met annually since its inception in 2011, allowing the Chief Justices to discuss common challenges, share ideas and work towards solutions. This year saw two additional signatories—Serbia and Georgia-- to the Conference’s Statement of Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary, known now as the Brijuni Statement (due to its original drafting and signing in 2015 at the Croatian seaside town of Brijuni). That statement reaffirms regional commitments to judicial independence and the...
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CEELI at Forum 2000
By CEELI
/ September 29, 2016
Forum 2000 (www.forum2000.cz) is an annual convocation in Prague, originally founded by Václav Havel, dedicated to supporting the values of democracy and respect for human rights. The Forum provides a platform for global leaders to openly debate and share thoughts on this critical issue. This year, CEELI again joined in Forum 2000’s Festival of Democracy, hosting a panel entitled “Unwinding: Rule of Law Reform in Europe Under Pressure.” The CEELI Institute panel addressed the uneven road in transformation of post-communist countries into fully functioning and healthy democracies. With the re-emergence of political nationalism and authoritarian instincts, pro-democratic cooperation across borders is of utmost importance. This session looked at current developments as well as possible strategies of international efforts aimed at advancing the rule of law...
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CEELI Institute Annual Meeting 2016 Wrap-Up
By CEELI
/ July 14, 2016
The Villa Grébovka was packed with friends and colleagues from around the world for the Institute’s Annual Meeting on June 26th-28th, 2016. Board members, faculty, donors, former CEELI alums, and many more friends and colleagues came together in Prague for an opportunity to review our efforts over the past year, and to look ahead to programs for the coming year. This year’s meeting focused particularly on the ongoing challenges involved in delivering assistance in environments that are experiencing deliberate repression of civil society. Attention was given not just to the problems, but to possible solutions, including examination of effective strategies for delivering development assistance and supporting civil society in the face of hostile environments and government repression. We were particularly...
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Promoting Good Practices for Terrorism Adjudication in the Balkans
By CEELI
/ July 14, 2016
In June, the CEELI Institute continued its efforts on a multi-year program to engage judges handling complex cases involving issues of terrorism and national security, including the increasingly serious threats posed in Europe by the transit of foreign terrorist fighters. The program, which aims to promote understanding and use of relevant international “good practices” for judges on these matters, including particularly the Global Counter-terrorism Forum’s (GCTF) Hague Memorandum Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offenses, convened a group of 21 judges from the Western Balkans for a 3-day session form June 15-17. Judges from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia, as well as prosecutors from Macedonia, were present at the session which elaborated on...
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Trial Skills and Legal Transformation Trainings in Burma
By CEELI
/ June 13, 2016
The CEELI Institute, together with Burma Center Prague (BCP), continues its effort to train young lawyers in Burma, under the auspices of the Myanmar Lawyers Network. The most recent sessions were delivered in May 2016. The most recent programs took place among a dramatically changing political landscape following the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in November 2015, which in turn began paving the way for democracy and the return to power of iconic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. In addition to the continuing focus on building practical trial skills, the trainings focused on aspects of political and legal transformation (an issue that is at last possible to address entirely openly in the country) as well as the...
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Please Join us for the CEELI Institute Annual Meeting June 26-27, 2016
By CEELI
/ June 13, 2016
Please join us in Prague on June 26-27 for the CEELI Institute 2016 Annual Meeting. Our theme this year will focus on one of the biggest challenges now facing the international development community: effective strategies for delivering Rule of Law developmental assistance in increasingly difficult political environments. We have an exciting line up of panelists, drawn from the international development community, and from the ranks of those currently struggling on the front lines to keep the Rule of Law alive under repressive conditions. As always, we expect this year’s meeting to bring together an exciting mix of activists, academicians, diplomats, government officials and experts, as well as our board members, partners, and friends. The gathering allows us the opportunity to...
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Respite Program for Human Rights Defenders at the Villa Grebovka
By CEELI
/ June 13, 2016
The CEELI Institute continues to expand its successful program to provide respite stays for human rights defenders working under pressure and in extreme situations. Since initiating the project in summer 2015, the Institute has now hosted seven of these brave and inspiring human rights attorneys through the program. Respite stay participants, to date, have worked in areas of anti-torture litigation, access to information, NGO defense, children's rights, and freedom of expression. Each participant creates his or her own program based on their interests and amount of time they will spend at the Institute. Examples of past projects have included learning documentary film making skills (for use in documenting and filming torture victim testimonies), providing interviews with international media on their...
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Tunisia: Training on Corruption Investigations in the Area of Permits and Licenses
By CEELI
/ June 13, 2016
In April 2016, the CEELI Institute delivered another of its series of anti-corruption trainings organized for Tunisian stakeholders in cooperation with the Tunisian National Anti-Corruption Agency (INLUCC). The session focused on detecting corruption and fraud in the issuance of government permits and licenses. Once again, we were able to secure outstanding international faculty for the program. Dan Newcomb is the founder of the Anti-Corruption group at the global law firm Shearman & Sterling, and has participated in numerous high-profile cases, including the investigation into the marketing practices of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, which was a precursor to the enactment of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Helge Kvamme is a partner with Selmer, a Norwegian Law Firm, and is a former...
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Anti-Corruption Programs at the Institute: Our Intensive Practitioner Courses Continue
By CEELI
/ June 13, 2016
In late April, we again conducted our popular program on “Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption” for a fully enrolled session. Participants at this most recent session included prosecutors, investigators, and NGO representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Serbia, and Tunisia as well as a number of observers, including representatives from the OSCE and from US embassies across the Balkan region. The five-day interactive program also brought together an extraordinary faculty line-up of some of the world’s foremost anti-corruption prosecutors and forensic accountants, who guided the participants through a case-based, interactive curricula using realistic case scenarios as learning tools. As part of the program, participants work throughout the week in small groups to develop their own investigation strategy, learning to...
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Spring Anti-Corruption Training at the CEELI Institute
By CEELI
/ May 4, 2016
In late April, the CEELI Institute again conducted its program on “Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption.” As with the previous sessions, the five-day interactive program brought together an extraordinary faculty line-up consisting of some of the world’s foremost anti-corruption prosecutors, forensic accountants, and practitioners including Jean-Michel Ferat, a US forensic accountant and Managing Director of Claro Group, David Hawkes, a German senior prosecutor and head of the Special Litigation Unit in the World Bank Group’s Integrity Vice Presidency (IVP), Pamela Parizek, Partner at KPMG in Washington D.C., Bruno Cova, Chair of the Milan Office of the law firm of Paul Hastings, and Susan Ringler, Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for a Fortune 100 company. Together, this esteemed faculty provided participants...
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The CEELI Institute 2015 Annual Report Now Available!
By CEELI
/ March 23, 2016
The CEELI Institute is excited to announce that our 2015 annual report is now available! The report follows the progress of our ongoing projects, including regional work in Tunisia and Burma, as well as our efforts here at the Villa Grébovka in Prague, including our highly acclaimed anti-corruption course, our CEE Judicial Network, and many more! Downloadable versions of all our annual reports can be found here. [gview file="https://ceeliinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CEELI-Institute-2015-Annual-Report.pdf"]
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Addressing Corruption in Ukraine
By CEELI
/ February 23, 2016
The CEELI Institute is currently conducting training for volunteers from the Ukrainian public monitoring group, OZON. OZON’s goal is to foster more open, accountable and transparent government. As part of their program at CEELI, OZON monitors are discussing differences between Russian and Ukrainian standards of access to government information, the role of public monitoring with respect to access to information and the legal process of requesting information and court processes for defending rights to information. Among other activities, OZON plans to underake monitoring of court proceedings; securing open access to information on court proceedings in Ukraine and monitoring court information is a critically important part of overall efforts underway to address corruption in Ukraine.
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Negotiation Strategies in an International Context Addressed at the CEELI Institute
By CEELI
/ February 9, 2016
The CEELI Institute was delighted to welcome former Jordanian Prime Minister, Dr. Abdelsalam al-Majali, who spoke at length on his long experiences in the Arab-Israeli peace processes. Dr. al-Majali offered valuable insights into the process of negotiation, the barriers negotiators face, how compromises can be reached, and how negotiators can successfully avoid impasse and stalemates. He offered important insights into how negotiations can successfully be used to resolve pressing political issues of our day. Dr. al-Majali was joined at the Institute by David Rivkin, the President of the International Bar Association, who led a discussion on the successful Israeli-Egyptian Taba border arbitrations. Mr. Rivkin is a partner at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimption, and a world-renowned...
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Prosecuting Banks for Participating in Corruption: Seminar in Tunisia
By CEELI
/ February 4, 2016
On February 3-4, 2016, the CEELI Institute organized the latest of a series of trainings for the Tunisian National Anti-Corruption Agency (INLUCC), this time focusing on strategies and policies for effective detection, investigation, and prosecution of corruption and money laundering in the financial sector. Over 40 professionals gathered for the training in Tunis, including representatives from both national and private banks, judges, lawyers, and journalists. Combining their various backgrounds, the participants brainstormed effective ways of how to detect and tackle the entrenched corruption that continues to be a problem in Tunisia. Mr. Chawki Tabib, President of the INLUCC, delivered the opening remarks and the media, including Tunisian TV, were present covering the event. The CEELI Institute program was led by...
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Evaluation of Judges: An Interactive Webinar Held on December 18, 2015
By CEELI
/ February 1, 2016
On December 18, 2015, the CEELI Institute, as part of its Central and Eastern European Judicial Network program, organized an online workshop on the “Evaluation of Judges.” The webinar was led by Mr. Pim Albers, an independent Dutch expert with global expertise in issues related to the judiciary and court administration. Mr. Albers gave an in-depth overview of international standards related to the evaluation of judges, how to develop and use clear performance standards and neutral performance indicators, and shared his experiences from recent initiatives on the evaluation of judges in Ukraine and Moldova. All ten judges from across the CEE region who participated in the event appreciated the presentation and supplemental discussion, as methods used for evaluating judges remains...
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CEELI Institute Anti-Corruption Training – Spring Course 2016
By CEELI
/ January 5, 2016
The CEELI Institute will again offer our signature anti-corruption course in April. This five day highly interactive training provides participants with a comprehensive framework for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. The course will take place at the Institute in Prague the week of April 25-30, 2016, and is designed to walk participants through the actual investigation of a case involving official corruption. As in the past, the course filled up quickly and we now have a waiting list for the April session, as well as plans under way to run the course again in early Fall. During the course, participants will work on a hypothetical case in small groups to develop their own investigation strategy, learning to use time tested...
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A Landmark Statement of Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary: Completed with CEELI Institute Assistance
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
With CEELI Insitute support and encouragement, the Supreme Courts of Central and Eastern Europe have joined together to sign a landmark Statement of Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. The Principles were approved at the Annual Conference of the Chief Justices, hosted by the Supreme Court of Croatia, in Brijuni, Croatia, in October 2015. Justices from the Supreme Courts of 16 participating countries from the region signed the Statement. It represents the culmination of three years of work by the Justices. The Statement is to some extent modeled on the 1997 Beijing Statement of Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary, drafted and signed by the Conference of Chief Justices of the Asia Pacific Region. The “Brijuni Statement of...
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November sees Multiple Intensive Anti-Corruption Training Programs at the Institute
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
Due to high demand, the CEELI Institute conducted a second session of our highly acclaimed training program on “Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption” at the Villa Grebovka, in early November. This session again brought together a highly experienced faculty line-up consisting of some of the world’s most experienced anti-corruption prosecutors, forensic accountants, and practitioners. The Institute also conducted a second, similar program later in November, at the special request of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The Institute’s Anti-Corruption curriculum has had outstanding student feedback, and is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive framework for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. The Institute’s efforts to provide high quality anti-corruption training continue to draw demand, especially as official...
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Strengthening Government Accountability in Ukraine
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
In September, the CEELI Institute worked together with a Ukrainian civil society organization (The Kyiv based Center for Civil Liberties) to train a network of Ukrainian citizens engaged in monitoring the conduct of law enforcement agencies, courts, and local government throughout the country. The project, named “OZONE” to signify its aim of promoting transparency, brought together regional leaders from across Ukraine to study best practices for projects promoting government accountability. The program focused particularly on communication strategies, including the development of useful and tangible reports as part of an accountability campaign, and effective communication of their efforts with the public and media. Participants examined other successful public monitoring campaigns, including a similar high profile court monitoring project in Georgia that...
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Human Rights Lawyers’ Sabbatical Program
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
With a generous donation from the director of the Oak Foundation’s international human rights program, the CEELI Institute has completed the renovation and furnishing of a one-bedroom flat at the Institute, which is dedicated for use by participants of a new respite and sabbatical program for human rights lawyers working under stressful and challenging conditions. Our program is designed to help mitigate the damaging effect of the severe stress and untenable workloads carried by many among the community of human rights lawyers. Often working in hostile and authoritarian environments, these lawyers work tirelessly to defend their clients – often at great personal risk and risk to their families. Depending on the length of their stay, participants are encouraged to write...
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Promoting Legal Skills Training for Independent Burmese Lawyers
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
The CEELI Institute, in partnership with Czech NGO Burma Center Prague, is again preparing to deliver another series of legal skills training sessions for independent Burmese lawyers, to be held this month in two regional Burmese cities. The trainings are delivered as part of a long-term cooperation agreement with the Myanmar Lawyers Network (MLN), an organization of independent Burmese lawyers active in pro bono defense of politically prosecuted citizens and vulnerable populations. U.S. Judge Christopher Whitten and Polish law professor Marta Skrodzka will lead the training, which is focused on building practical advocacy skills. The program will also address the role and experience of lawyers in a society transitioning from a totalitarian regime to democracy. The training sessions predominantly target...
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Supporting International Human Rights Standards, Here at Home in Central Europe
By CEELI
/ November 30, 2015
The CEELI Institute was delighted to host and cosponsor a conference on International Human Rights Obligations of Post-Communist Countries, in partnership with the Law Faculty of Masaryk University in Brno and the Czech Institute for European and Comparative Law, held at the Institute in October. The conference was attended by almost 100 professional participants from across the Czech Republic, and focused particularly on recent research by Masaryk University scholars on the process of signing and ratification of international human rights conventions by Central and Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Aspects of the Czech transition to democracy have recently been under siege by some sectors of the Czech political spectrum. This conference highlighted the Czech Republic’s role...
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The CEELI Institute Hosts the Second “Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption” Training Session of 2015
By CEELI
/ November 4, 2015
The CEELI Institute is again conducting our highly acclaimed training program on "Investigating and Prosecuting Official Corruption” at the Villa Grebovka, in Prague. Due to high demand for the program, the Institute is running multiple training sessions this year. November's program brings together a highly experienced faculty line-up consisting of some of the world's most experienced anti-corruption prosecutors, forensic accountants, and practitioners. This course, which has had outstanding student feedback, is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive framework for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. It is the Institute's only tuition-based course and one that continues to expand, especially as official corruption has emerged as one of the most prevalent and pernicious threats to the rule of law around the...
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The Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe Undertakes a Landmark Step in Approving The Statement of Principle of the Independence of the Judiciary
By CEELI
/ October 22, 2015
The Conference of Chief Justices of Central and Eastern Europe is a self-sustaining organization whose members are the Supreme Court Chief Justices who lead the judiciaries of twenty-three nations from the Baltic Sea to the Caucasus, including the Balkan Peninsula. The Conference meets annually in one of the member countries to address the many common challenges faced by the Chief Justices in improving their countries’ judiciaries, promoting judicial independence, strengthening integrity and accountability, improving court management, fighting corruption, and building public support for the courts. The CEELI Institute has been honored to support the work and mission of the Conference since its inception in 2011. This year’s Conference was hosted by the Supreme Court of Croatia, from 11-14 October at...
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The CEELI Institute hosts Lebanese Judges Engaged in Asset Recovery Efforts
By CEELI
/ October 6, 2015
The CEELI Institute was delighted to host a program on Non-Conviction Based Confiscation and Asset Management, jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division (Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section).The program was attended by 20 very senior Lebanese Officials, including representatives of Lebanon’s judiciary and civil society, and by officials from the Lebanese Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Special Investigation Committee. Speakers included the Vice-Chair of the Egmont Group (the international coordinating body for FIU’s), a member of the Lebanese Parliament, experts from the International Centre for Asset Recovery (at the Basel Institute, Switzerland) and federal prosecutors and investigators from the US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
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Commemorating the 50th ANNIVERSARY of the PRAGUE SPRING
By CEELI
/ December 19, 2011
2018 marks the 50th anniversary of a brief period of liberalism, economic and social reform and democratization of Czechoslovakia, known as the Prague Spring. In January 1968, a moderate, Alexander Dubček replaced his hard-line communist predecessor to become the Secretary of the Community Party in Czechoslovakia. His leadership marked the beginning of a new era in Czechoslovakia, even if for just a short time. In response to economic depression and complaints that the Soviet Union was exploiting its people, Dubček launched an “Action Programme” of liberalizations. This resulted in increased freedom of press, religion, association, and travel, the rehabilitation of victims of political purges during the Joseph Stalin era, a revised constitution to guarantee civil rights and liberties, a switch...
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CEELI Institute Annual Report
By mikekoeppe
/ April 22, 2022
We are happy to share the release of our 2021-2022 annual report, detailing our activities for the past year.
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Spring 2022 Newsletter
By mikekoeppe
/ April 20, 2022
Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Institute has received a steady stream of requests for assistance from our many colleagues, partners, and friends directly affected by the violence in the country.
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Welcoming Julia Fromholz as new Executive Director of the CEELI Institute
By Lauriane Labourel
/ April 12, 2022
The CEELI Institute Supports Ukrainian War Refugees
By Lauriane Labourel
/ April 12, 2022
Register to the Judicial Exchange Network Conference on May 6-7, 2022
By mikekoeppe
/ April 6, 2022
Building Public Trust and Confidence in The Judiciary: Strategies for Strengthening Judicial Independence
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Central & Eastern European Judicial Exchange Network Conference
By Lauriane Labourel
/ April 6, 2022
Building Public Trust and Confidence in the Judiciary: Strategies for Strengthening Judicial Independence
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Judicial Case Management – Ensuring greater court efficiency and accountability
By Lauriane Labourel
/ March 16, 2022
Podcast Series One: Safeguarding the Rule of Law in Challenging Times
By mikekoeppe
/ March 11, 2022
This series encapsulates the unique legal challenges of the day and will feature interviews, conversations, and reports with learning judges, civil society actors, and representatives …
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Series Two: Digital Justice
By mikekoeppe
/ March 11, 2022
In this series, we review the opportunities provided by the digitalization of justice and the challenges and benefits it presents to the judiciaries in Central and Eastern Europe…
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Practical Guidelines For Remote Judging
By CEELI
/ March 9, 2022
In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, judiciaries across the region and world were forced to rapidly adjust their daily operations.
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