Legal Training For Timorese Jurists and Technicians underway

Opening ceremony of the legal drafting course for Timorese jurists and technicians of the public administration

Dili /24 May 2005

Strengthening the Justice sector and reducing the reliance on international assistance in the area of the legislative process is a top priority in the development of a new nation such as Timor-Leste. With this in mind, the Ministry of Justice yesterday launched a 6 month Legal Drafting Course for Timorese lawyers and other legal related technicians working in the government and in the public administration sector.

The course, supported by the Dili Distance Learning Center and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from the government of Portugal, will include lessons on the legislative process in Timor-Leste, internal procedures for drafting legal proposals, principles and rules for legal drafting, legislative texts and case studies.

The course will train up to 25 officials from the Ministry of Justice and other invited ministries and secretariats of state. It will be delivered in five modules, both through videoconferences at the Dili Distance Learning Center as well as through local classroom training sessions facilitated by a UNDP legal expert. During the first module, the local sessions will also draw on the support of an UNMISET advisor working for the Ministry of Justice.

The training course is an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Justice and organized by the Dili Distance Learning Center, together with the Portuguese National Administration Institute (INA) and the Open University
from Portugal. Financial and technical support will also be provided through the UNDP supported project, "Strengthening the Justice System in Timor-Leste".

The opening ceremony was held at the Dili Distance Learning Centre (inside the World Bank office premises) yesterday afternoon. The Vice Minister of Justice, Mr. Manuel Abrantes officiated the ceremony. Mr. João Ramos Pinto the Ambassador of Portugal in Timor-Leste, Mrs. Naheed Haque the UNDP Country Director and Ms Elisabeth Huybens the World Bank Country Manager, also attended.