The Centre for OSCE Research (CORE) and the German Federal Foreign Office will conduct a workshop on OSCE rule-of-law assistance in Vienna, 25 – 26 March 2010. The workshop will focus on two specific topics, namely the independence of the judiciary and administrative justice reforms, as applied to the requirements of participating States in three regions: Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

The workshop aims to outline ways in which MC.DEC 7/08 on “Further Strengthening the Rule of Law in the OSCE Area” can be implemented according to the particular requirements of participating States in various OSCE regions. The participants will discuss the expectations that governments in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia have of OSCE rule-of-law assistance. OSCE practitioners will portray best practices and the specific requirements of their work with regard to their host governments, OSCE institutions, development agencies and donors. Representatives of the OSCE Troika will be asked to share their experiences with rule-of-law issues in 2009 (Greece) and their priorities for 2010 (Kazakhstan) and 2011 (Lithuania). Representatives of think tanks and international organizations will present their concepts of rule-of-law assistance. Discussions are anticipated to focus on the comparative advantages of OSCE rule-of-law assistance in the States concerned, and on expectations, preferred topics, formats, methodologies and co-operation partners.

Participants

The expected list of participants numbers around 30 individuals, including governmental officials from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; OSCE rule-of-law officers from the OSCE field operations in Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan; representatives of the current OSCE Troika; ODIHR rule-of-law representatives; representatives of the Council of Europe and the European Commission; members of German and other think tanks, including CORE; and representatives of the German Federal Foreign Office. Representatives from interested Delegations and OSCE institutions are invited to participate as guests.

Background

At the 2008 Helsinki Ministerial Council meeting, the OSCE participating States adopted a Decision on “Further Strengthening the Rule of Law in the OSCE Area” (MC.DEC 7/08). It called on the participating States “to contribute, where appropriate, to OSCE projects and programmes supporting the rule of law” and encouraged them “to continue and to enhance their efforts to share information and best practices and to strengthen the rule of law” in a total of thirteen relevant areas. As one of the participating States that took the initiative in proposing a decision of this type and campaigned for its adoption, Germany considers this to be an appropriate time to further discuss suitable ways to implement the decision. A discussion of this kind could also make a valuable contribution to ongoing discussions within the Corfu Process.

The OSCE’s activities to promote the rule of law are part of a field whose shape and direction tends to be rather fuzzy, in no small part because of the huge number of players involved. There is no single model of “the state based on the rule of law” (Rechtsstaat, état de droit, правовое государство etc.), or of how its promotion should be pursued, either at the headquarters of international organizations or among practitioners on the ground. Various approaches to co-operation give different weightings to the promotion of a range of fundamental values – such as the rule of law, democratization, human rights protection, good governance and sustainable development – each of which may be seen as a goal in itself or as a precondition for the realization of a higher goal. This conceptual challenge is reflected in the decisions and structures of the OSCE and its activities aimed at promoting the rule of law at ODIHR and in the missions. This makes it essential to continue dialogue between governmental officials, OSCE representatives and practitioners, development agencies, donors and think tanks on the OSCE’s understanding of the rule of law and especially on its provision of practical assistance in particular participating States.