In Kazakhstan, the ODIHR also reviewed new amendments to the law on defence lawyers that concern reform of access to the bar, disciplinary proceedings, and the organizational structure of the bar. During the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on the Role of Defence Lawyers in Guaranteeing a Fair Trial, in November 2005, a number of recommendations were made with respect to bar reform that could be implemented in Kazakhstan. The ODIHR plans to organize an international conference on reform of the bar in Kazakhstan in 2006. In Armenia, the ODIHR followed the implementation of the new law on advocates and also monitored the unification of two former bodies into the newly established Chamber of Advocates. Professional development The ODIHR also encourages the creation of continuing legal education programmes that allow legal professionals to regularly update their professional knowledge and improve their skills. In 2005, the ODIHR worked with defence lawyers in Kazakhstan on improving the professionalism of bar members. A group of Kazakh trainers who completed an ODIHR training programme in 2004 conducted more than 90 hours of seminars to improve the professional legal skills of their less-experienced colleagues in the Almaty City Collegium of Advocates. In Kyrgyzstan, the ODIHR provided support to the Youth Human Rights Group, a national NGO that implements an advanced training course for lawyers on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Twenty-five lawyers will complete this programme in 2006. Responding to a request from the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office, the ODIHR carried out a training session for a group of Armenian prosecutors in November 2005 on dealing with domestic violence. The seminar featured a prominent expert from the English Crown Prosecution Service. In 2006, the ODIHR will conduct another training session for Armenian prosecutors on prosecuting cases of sexual assault. Trial observation Trial-observation programmes can be instrumental to promoting the right to a fair trial. The information gathered by observers often points to the most pressing reform needs and may provide a basis for reform discussions. In individual cases, the presence of observers in the courtroom may encourage the court and the parties to adhere to the procedural rules more vigorously. When the ODIHR organized the first OSCE Inter-Mission Trial Observation Meeting in 2002, trial observation was a relatively new activity for OSCE field operations, conducted primarily in the countries of South-Eastern Europe. A wealth of experience has been gained by those trial observers, who can offer experience to others who have begun to conduct trial observation in other parts of the OSCE region. The ODIHR organized two meetings in 2005 to provide such opportunities to exchange experiences and lessons learned. The fourth Inter-Mission Trial Observation Meeting was held in Sarajevo in the fall, with staff from 12 OSCE field missions attending. A smaller meeting followed this in Zagreb that was dedicated to observation of war-crimes cases. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights  Rule of Law Tel.: +48 22 520 0600 Al. Ujazdowskie 19 Fax: +48 22 520 0605 00-557 Warsaw E-mail: ruleoflaw@odihr.pl Poland www.osce.org/odihr May 2006