DEMOCRATIZATION  //  25 Participants of an ODIHR regional roundtable discussion on building public trust in judicial institutions held in Podgorica, Montenegro, on 28 and 29 September 2017 (left to right): Judge Damir Kontrec, Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia and Member of State Judicial Council; Ambassador Maryse Daviet, Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro; Ghenadie Barba, Chief of the Rule of Law Unit at ODIHR. (OSCE Mission to Montenegro) Judicial independence and accountability In 2017, ODIHR enhanced the capacity of 87 legal and civil society professionals (58 men, 29 women) in OSCE participating States to better understand and apply judicial independence standards and ensure accountability in their national structures. These activities included a regional roundtable in Podgorica on 28 and 29 September, in which representatives of judicial councils, civil society organizations and five OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe identified ways to overcome challenges to the transparent functioning and composition of judicial self-governance bodies. ODIHR meetings on 14 and 15 November in Tbilisi and on 29 and 30 November in Tashkent also strengthened the capacity of members of judicial councils to fairly evaluate the performance of judges, and provided guidance on the role of judicial councils in ensuring judicial independence and accountability. Gender and diversity and justice ODIHR continued work to better understand and overcome barriers to accessing justice, achieving equal representation and participating in the justice system, including within the judiciary, which women and minorities continue to experience across the OSCE region. ODIHR began work on a needs assessment study to identify gaps and challenges faced by justice chain actors and to determine good practices in a selection of OSCE participating States. Majda Halilović of the Atlantic Initiative NGO in Bosnia and Herzegovina speaking at an ODIHRorganized event exploring linkages between gender, diversity and justice, as Dzhamilia Kaparova, of the Kyrgyz NGO Ensan Diamond, listens. Warsaw, 29 November 2017. (OSCE/Maria Kuchma) Right to a fair trial and trial monitoring ODIHR continued to equip civil society with skills and knowledge to respond to new challenges affecting the observance of the right to a fair trial. ODIHR’s Annual Trial Monitoring Meeting, held on 23 and 24 April in Skopje, in co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Skopje, brought together 50 participants from NGOs and OSCE field missions (20 men, 30 women) to discuss and share good practices on issues such as access to courts and monitoring of high profile cases. ODIHR also organized a seminar for prospective civil society trial monitors and OSCE field staff on 11 and 12 May in Durrës, Albania, to familiarize participants (8 men, 17 women) with trial monitoring standards and methodology.