Lawyers who are working in different parts of Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), participated in a cascade training on the right to freedom of expression and the application of the Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the judiciary system.

The discussion on key principles of freedom of expression and its limitations, through the practice of European Court for Human Rights relative to the domestic court practice, was followed by the panels on the three-step test, as well as freedom of expression and the internet.This seminar is the second one organized combining the online and offline participation. The participants and local experts gathered in Laktaši, whereas the international expert and representatives of Council of Europe took part online.

The goal of the seminar was to increase the number of lawyers from Republika Srpska who are trained on freedom of expression and who are using the standards of the European Court of Human Rights in their daily work, in order to raise the capacities of local judiciary to consistently apply the standards set by the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court.

The educators at the training were Sevima Sali-Terzić, Senior legal advisor at the Constitutional Court of BiH, judge Nives Ćetojević and lawyer Milana Buljić, all with long-term experience and knowledge on freedom of expression related topics.

This training was organised within the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, and its action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (JUFREX)”.