A Regional round table “Assessing human rights training for legal professionals: challenges and good practices” was organised by the Council of Europe in Budva, Montenegro, for 25 judges, prosecutors and legal professionals from judicial and prosecutorial councils and judicial training institutions from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo* .

The Council of Europe and the European Union invest a lot in human rights training of legal professionals in the Western Balkans, just as in other Member States. But how to assess the impact of these efforts? What are the benefits for societies in the short and long-run? What could be the indicators of a positive impact?

These questions lay at the core of any training, and they were the focus of the two-day event, where the participants, split into three thematic groups, were working on a set of recommendations to be considered in the future development of the topic. Intensive discussions clearly showed a need in a standardized evaluation methodology that can be used, with some alterations, by various European judiciaries.

The regional round table became yet another step in developing the complex topic of assessing the impact of human rights training and will serve as a basis for eventual regional and country-specific projects aimed at finding sustainable solutions to the matter.

The event was organised within the Action "Supporting effective remedies and mutual legal assistance", which is being implemented in Serbia as a part of the joint Council of Europe and the European Union Programme “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”.

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.