Joint Programme

Horizontal Facility

Social media platforms play an increasingly central part in social life and communication, inevitably touching upon people's lives, with judges and prosecutors being no exception. As stated in Bangalore Principle 4.6, "judge, like any other citizen, is entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly, but in exercising such rights, a judge shall always conduct himself or herself in such a manner as to preserve the dignity of the judicial office and the impartiality and independence of the judiciary."

However, due to the nature of judicial office, the use of social media by judges and prosecutors may pose potential threats to their privacy and integrity, while producing an impact on the public’s confidence in the judiciary.

In order to enhance communication and digital skills of court presidents, heads of prosecution offices, press judges and press prosecutors and members of Judicial/Prosecutorial Council's secretariats, social media workshop was organised in co-operation with the Judicial Training Centre of Montenegro.

During the workshop, various existing relevant guidelines, materials, cases and opinions from CCJE and CCPE were presented to participants with a view to providing useful background information related to the use of social media in a contemporary digital landscape. An important link between social media use and judicial ethics was elaborated, followed by concrete examples of non-ethical behaviors related to social networks. Case studies from the country and the region were delivered, based on role-play scenarios.

The workshop was organised under the action “Accountability and professionalism of the judicial system in Montenegro” which is part of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.