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Council of Europe - Training course for lawyers and legal professionals on death penalty
March 24, 2026: March 24, 2026 - Council of Europe. The HELP module (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty is now available in English.
See: https://help.elearning.ext.coe.int/course/section.php?id=98323
This comprehensive training course is designed to familiarise lawyers and legal professionals from Europe and beyond, with the fundamental concepts and major legal texts governing the death penalty at the supranational level.
The course explores the issue of the death penalty and its abolition by outlining key concepts and main definitions. This training addresses the global abolitionist trajectory and aims to foster a deep understanding and analysis of why the death penalty constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as set out in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and other relevant texts of international law. It highlights the incompatibility of the death penalty with the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment throughout the entire process of a person sentenced to death, from trial to detention, execution, and even beyond, for the families.
The course also explains the pivotal role played by the Council of Europe in the abolition of the death penalty in Europe: a pioneer in this field, it enabled Europe to become a death penalty-free zone since 1997, with the exception of Belarus, a non-member state. It provides information on its abolitionist policy and continued contribution to the promotion of universal abolition, and on its key partners.
The module was developed in 2025 by a task force with the support of the HELP team, as part of the project “Death is not justice: abolition of the death penalty in Europe and beyond”, financed by France and Switzerland. The main expert was Ms Marie de l’Estoille who devoted her doctoral thesis to legal strategies aiming to the universal abolition of the death penalty.
The module is available for free on the HELP platform and is intended for judges, lawyers, legal professionals, as well as anyone interested in the legal and human rights aspects related to the abolition of the death penalty.
The module is now available in English and French. An Arabic language version is also being prepared.
https://www.coe.int/en/web/abolition-death-penalty/-/the-help-module-on-the-abolition-of-the-death-penalty-is-now-available-in-english (Source: coe.int, 24/03/2026)
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