The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) recently held a seminar on trial monitoring best practice for journalists, lawyers and civic society workers. MLSA delivered the seminar in partnership with the International Press Institute (IPI) and Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).
Veysel Ok, Co-Director of MLSA, gave the keynote speech opening the seminar, which took place at Ceyazir Restaurant. Ok explained the importance of trial monitoring as a method of holding the judiciary accountable for their decisions and behavior. Caroline Stockford, Turkey Advocacy Coordinator for IPI, and Aret Demirci, FNF Project Coordinator, then elaborated on what they hoped to achieve through organizing the training seminar.
Joanne Cecil and Mark Jones, members of the UK Bar’s Human Rights Committee, attended the seminar as lead trainers. Cecil and Jones outlined the framework they had planned for the seminar. The seminar began by covering the nature and purpose of trial monitoring, then moved on to how best to monitor a trial – examining systematic and thematic approaches to doing so.
Cecil and Jones subsequently led sessions discussing the content of the right to a fair trial and how best to identify when that right has been violated. Afterwards, they helped participants understand how to develop a detailed report about the cases they monitor. The seminar’s final session was a practical exercise in which participants identified violations of the right to a fair trial and practiced reporting on those violations.
Updated: December 5 2018
