IALS Associate Research Fellow Stephen Mason recently spoke at the seminar, ‘Supporting the civil justice reforms – strengthening the judicial system in the Republic of Belarus’ held in Minsk (Belarus) on 13 December 2019. Stephen spoke to court presidents from all over Belarus on the subject ‘Electronic evidence: a high-level introduction’. The event was funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe for the members of the Supreme Court of Belarus. The full programme can be found below.

In the photo from left to right:
Tatiana Gerasimova, Head of International Legal Department, Supreme Court of Belarus Republic;
Giorgi Johadze, Manager of the Council of Europe CyberEast project;
Oleksandr Ovchynnykov, Avocat, Strasbourg and Council of Europe expert;
Valeriy Kalinkovich, deputy president of the Supreme Court of Belarus Republic;
Stephen Mason, Barrister, England and Council of Europe expert;
Dr Rimantas Simaitis, Attorney-at-law, Vilnius and Council of Europe expert;
Natalia Khodakevich, Project coordinator, Council of Europe.
Programme:
9.30 – Registration of the participants9.45 – Opening of the meeting
Valeriy Kalinkovich, deputy president of the Supreme Court)
Natalia Khodakevich, project manager, Council of Europe
10.00 – Some issues relating to use of electronic evidence according to civil procedural code and commercial procedural code of Belarus.Konstantin Kharitonyuk, judge of the Supreme Court
10.20 – questions and answers
10.30 – General introduction on the use of electronic evidence, examples of a number of countries
Stephen Mason, Council of Europe expert
11.30 – questions and answers
11.45 – Coffee break
12.05 – Law and practice relating to the use of electronic evidence in France. Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe guidelines on the use of electronic evidence in civil and administrative proceedings
Oleksandr Ovchynnykov, Council of Europe expert
12.40 – questions and answers
12.50 – Lunch
14.00 – Law and practice relating to the use of electronic evidence in Lithuania
Rimantas Simaitis, Council of Europe expert
14.35 – questions and answers
14.45 – Council of Europe standards concerning electronic evidence in criminal proceedings
Giorgi Johadze, manager of the Council of Europe CyberEast project
15.20 – questions and answers
15.30 – Coffee break
15.50 – Some issues relating to electronic evidence in criminal proceedings in Belarus
Dmitry Uloga, judge of the Supreme Court
16.10 – questions and answers
16.20 – To be confirmed
16.40 – questions and answers
16.50 – General discussion on international experience relating to use electronic evidence
17.20 – Closing
Stephen Mason is a barrister and an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
Books published on paper and available as a free download:
Electronic Evidence


Free journal:
Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review (also available via the HeinOnline subscription service)
