Democratization OSCE/Piotr Markowski Arkady Gutnikov (l), Director of the Centre for Clinical Legal Education, Saint Petersburg Institute of Law and Oksana Syroyid of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine, at a workshop on reform of the legal profession, Krakow, Poland, 13 November 2008. Assisting the prevention of torture and illtreatment in custody ODIHR’s rule of law programme paid special attention in 2008 to the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment of those in custody. ODIHR staff held a number of working meetings throughout the year with relevant international actors, including the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture. Work was finalized the publication The Fight Against Torture: OSCE Experience, which will be released in 2009. The manual presents best practices collected from the OSCE’s extensive experience in this area, and provides guidance to the Office’s field operations and other actors involved in the prevention of torture. On 25 and 26 November 2008 in Prague, ODIHR, in co-operation with Bristol University School of Law, organized a conference bringing together representatives from government and civil society, national human rights institutions, OSCE field operations and experts from across the OSCE region. Participants shared information and experiences on the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT). In particular, the conference focused on concrete discussion of the process for creating and designating of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) in various OSCE participating States at a time when many are engaged in the implementation of this relatively new protocol. State parties are required to create domestic monitoring mechanisms for places of detention under OPCAT. The model NPMs examined at the meeting will provide the basis for further regional meetings on OPCAT implementation in 2009. Strengthening the legal profession Lawyers play a special role in defending the right to a fair trial, ensuring access to justice and, more broadly, upholding the values of the OSCE’s human dimension. The legal profession continues to face serious challenges in many participating States. Frequently reported problems include limited access to the bar for lawschool graduates, insufficient numbers of qualified lawyers, the low quality and prohibitively high costs of legal services, and the lack of effective legal aid programmes. ODIHR organized an expert workshop, “Reform of the Legal Profession and Access to Justice” on 13 and 14 November 2008 in Krakow, Poland, to discuss the challenges posed by these issues in the OSCE area and their solutions, with a special emphasis on the former Annual Report 2008 23