OSCE Centre organizes course on human rights in criminal proceedings for students in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 20 September 2013 – Some 30 students from the Interior Ministry’s Institute graduated from an OSCE-supported course on international human rights standards in the process of criminal proceedings and investigations, in Ashgabat today.

The OSCE Centre and the Interior Ministry of Turkmenistan organized the one week-long course to help future investigators and legal practitioners gain new knowledge about international standards and national legislation meant to safeguard human rights at the stages of the initiation of criminal proceedings and investigation.

“The course is organized as part of the OSCE Centre’s support in the area of legal education in Turkmenistan. Such courses are designed to equip students with knowledge about mechanisms of ensuring human rights at various stages of the administration of criminal justice that they will be able to apply in their future careers,” said Ambassador Ivo Petrov, Head of OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “The Centre is determined to further assist the host government in their efforts to incorporate international human rights standards in national legislation.”

Two experts from the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation gave an overview of human rights from the perspective of criminal law and criminal proceedings, and the models of conducting preliminary investigation in different legal systems.

The students learned about the forms of guilt and their ascertainment in the process of investigation and looked at case studies addressing the initiation of criminal proceedings on crimes related to economic activities, as well as traffic and transport safety.