Horizontal Facility - News
Manual for police education on equality & non-discrimination: a new resource for police trainers in the Western Balkans
The Manual for police education on equality & non-discrimination translated into local languages of the Western Balkans is finally out and available for download. Law enforcement plays a key role in combating racism and racial discrimination, and in promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule...
The CEPEJ co-organises a regional workshop aimed at development of a “Hub” dedicated to new technologies in justice systems
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), in close cooperation with the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), co-organised a regional workshop entitled “Advancing the HJPC BiH regional ICT (information and communication technologies)...
Assisting the Government of Montenegro in preparing new national 2024-2029 LGBTI Strategy
The first session of the working group in charge of drafting a new National LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) Strategy for the period 2024-2029, took place on 26 March in municipality of Bar, Montenegro. This activity, aimed at devising a new national strategy tailored to the...
Advisors of the Constitutional Court discussed the application of the quality of law and proportionality tests in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts
The joint European Union and Council of Europe action „Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia“ organised on 12 April in Belgrade, in co-operation with the Constitutional Court, a training for around 50 advisors of the Constitutional Court on the application of the quality of law and...
Empowering Legal Clinics and Civil Society Organizations to enhance Free Legal Aid system in North Macedonia
The legal clinics and civil society organisations (CSOs) authorised for the provision of primary legal aid, are instrumental in ensuring access to justice and to effectively apply protection of human rights in line with European standards. Around 25 participants attended a five-days training of...
Enabling proactive transparency and access to information in North Macedonia
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. – paragraph 1, Article 10 of the European Convention for Human Rights. Towards...
Regional conference in Belgrade looks at the use of encrypted communication in criminal proceedings
A regional two-day conference on legal aspects of the use of data from encrypted messaging services as evidence in criminal proceedings started in Belgrade today. Its objective is to allow legal professionals from the Western Balkans region to learn from experience of their peers form other...
Empowering Bosnia and Herzegovina's judiciary: enhancing freedom of expression through training of trainers
Strengthening the capacities of local legal professionals to serve as educators in the realm of freedom of expression, in accordance with the standards outlined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), is a...
Council of Europe HELP Course on Access to Justice for Women launched to empower Judges and Prosecutors from the Western Balkans
In a significant step towards enhancing gender-sensitive legal practices and strengthening the capacity of judges and prosecutors in addressing gender bias in the judiciary in the Western Balkans, the regional HELP course on Access to Justice for Women was launched with the support of the EU...
Improving detection of child trafficking instances in schools in Serbia
Child trafficking is a widespread and underreported phenomenon. According to official data from the Serbian Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection, the percentage of children among the identified victims of trafficking in Serbia has significantly increased in 2023 and amounts to 62%...
Press Release
“Upholding journalistic integrity and advancing freedom of expression in North Macedonia”: Journalists and media actors in North Macedonia discuss key measures and challenges.
The recent amendments to North Macedonia's Criminal Code enhance journalist protection by allowing the Prosecutor's Office to initiate criminal cases on their behalf, alleviating the burden of private prosecutions. Additionally, since defamation and insult were decriminalised in North Macedonia,...
Strengthening the role and accountability of court interpreters and translators in Montenegro
Due to their role in judicial proceedings, court interpreters play an essential role in ensuring the equality of citizens in justice-related communications. In Montenegro, around 400 licensed court interpreters provide services for 25 languages in the proceedings before the police, the...
Police officers’ human rights training skills verified in Bosnia and Herzegovina
A group of 10 law enforcement officers was certified to deliver human rights- based training in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 16-17 April 2024, in Sarajevo. This activity is a part of an internal accreditation scheme developed in close co-operation with the cantonal and entity Ministries of Interior...
Steering towards freedom of expression in line with European standards
Underscoring the commitment to safeguarding freedom of expression and media in North Macedonia, the second Steering Committee Meeting under the joint EU and Council of Europe action on "Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in North Macedonia" (PRO-FREX) that convened today in...
MEDIA ADVISORY: Regional conference on the use of encrypted communication in criminal proceedings to be held on Thursday
A regional two-day conference on the use of encrypted communication as evidence in criminal proceedings, organised by the joint action of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia”, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement...
New Communication Strategy for Judicial Council and Courts presented in Montenegro
The Communication strategy of the Judicial Council and Courts for 2024 - 2026 and the 2024 Action Plan were presented to court presidents, press judges and the Judicial Council's members. The Strategy defines ways of communicating with public and media, contributing to greater accountability of...
European Union and Council of Europe organise thematic discussion: “Upholding Journalistic Integrity: Safeguarding Journalists and Media Actors in North Macedonia”
A thematic discussion on "Upholding Journalistic Integrity: Safeguarding Journalists and Media Actors in North Macedonia," will be organised on 17 April 2024 in Hotel Aleksandar Palace, in the framework of the European Union and the Council of Europe joint action “Protecting freedom of expression...
Supporting the role of local government on the treatment of property registration processes
A series of three outreach monitoring activities were held, in the Municipalities of Librazhd (28 March) , Berat (3 April) and Malësi e Madhe (9 April), to collect data on the involvement of local government institutions in handling remaining key issues in property registration. Representatives...
Montenegro: Beneficiaries Steering Committee approves a plan for the Freedom of Expression action in Montenegro
The action “Protection of the freedom of expression and of the media in Montenegro (PRO-FREX)” held its Second Beneficiary Steering Committee in Podgorica on 5 April. In the light of recent expert support, by providing a Legal Opinion on three main laws regulating media in Montenegro, as well as...
Strengthening the protection of journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are often used by the political and economic power holders as means of pressuring journalists. This and other common threats against journalists and how to address them were among the issues discussed at the two-day workshop in Neum. The...