At the invitation of the Eritrean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Peter Cresswell undertook a scoping trip to Eritrea on behalf of the Foundation.
His visit comprised a full programme of meetings with senior judges, Ministers including the Minister of Justice and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General, the Head of the Law School in Asmara, the EU Ambassador and the FCO. He also gave a lecture to a group of law students on methods of dispute resolution for disputes between individuals, companies and states. In addition he visited the Port of Massawa and attended an event organised by the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) which was also attended by a number of foreign Ambassadors and UN representatives.
The visit was funded through the FCO’s Magna Carta Partnership Fund The Foundation successfully applied for further funding from the FCO enabling Sir Peter to make a further visit to Asmara in December 2016. During his 10 day stay he undertook a series of meetings including with the Chief Justice and other members of the Court of Final Appeal (Supreme Court), the EU Ambassador, representatives of the Eritrean Free Zone and the UK Ambassador. Sir Peter also provided lectures to a range of judges and staff from the Ministry of Justice as well as to final year students at the Law College.
Sir Peter undertook a further visit in February 2018 accompanied by barrister Matthew Reeve. The Ministry of Justice had arranged a series of lectures and seminars covering a wide range of topics comparing the judicial and court systems in England and Wales and Eritrea. Lectures were also provided to students at the Law College on charter parties and marine assurance.
The Foundation is very grateful to the FCO for its funding and hopes this will enable it to continue to build a relationship with the Eritrean judiciary.
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