Belarus’ Supreme Court seeks closer cooperation with German foundation IRZ
MINSK, 22 February (BelTA) - The Supreme Court of Belarus expressed readiness for active business dialogue with the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), the press service of the country’s Supreme Court told BelTA following the meeting between Chairman of the Supreme Court Valentin Sukalo and Director of the German foundation Stefan Hulshorster in Minsk.
The sides discussed further cooperation in the areas relevant for the development of the Belarusian judicial system, including such issues as judicial administration and professional development of judges, the introduction of appeals to civil judicial proceedings starting from July 2018. The parties also considered the possibility of sharing experience in developing the concept for a unified civil procedural code, and also in the further implementation of alternative methods of dispute resolution.
Valentin Sukalo thanked Stefan Hulshorster for his constructive approach to cooperation and expressed the interest in further active business dialogue between the parties.
Stefan Hulshorster also visited the Justice Ministry to meet with First Deputy Justice Minister Sergei Zadiran. The priority areas of cooperation will include the study of the German lawmaking experience, the public control over the observance of the rights of convicts. According to the Justice Ministry, the parties reached a preliminary agreement on the forms of further cooperation.
The German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) assists states in developing rule-of-law structures and implementing functioning market economy structures. The IRZ works with more than 30 countries. The cooperation with Belarus started in 1993 as part of the Federal Government’s program Transform. During the following long-term project on the rule-of-law dialogue from 1996 to 2012 a great number of events on the matter and also on civil and economic law were conducted with the participation of the government bodies and NGO organizations. The bilateral dialogue between the foundation and the government and non-government partners of Belarus was resumed in June 2016.
