Lawyers from Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Konjic, Živinice and Gornji Vakuf - Uskoplje are participating in a two-day cascade training on whistle-blower protection and in relation to the protection of freedom of expression in the justice system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that includes understanding and application of Council of Europe standards established by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. There are few cases in this area in Bosnia and Herzegovina and if they occur, they appear in labour disputes, without being treated as a freedom of expression protection issue. Only one lawyer, a seminar attendee, reported having had one case of whistle-blower protection in her career.

The legal framework for the protection of whistle-blowers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is incomplete and out of sync at various levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which makes it difficult to effectively protect whistle-blowers in the country. In this sense, BiH society faces two problems: a lack of understanding by the judiciary of the importance of the role of whistle-blowers and reporting corruption within the systems themselves, as well as a lack of civic awareness about fighting corruption in this way.

The training at the seminar is based on presentations on the role of whistle-blowers in democratic societies, on protection mechanisms within Council of Europe standards, as well as how all this is regulated within the BiH legal system. Through presentations and discussions, small group discussions and case studies, lawyers gained new knowledge and exchanged experiences in this field.

Educators at this seminar are Jelena Surčulija Milojević, international expert of the Council of Europe and professor of media law at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Katica Artuković, judge of the Cantonal Court in Široki Brijeg and Franjo Dragičević, senior legal advisor of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The seminar was organised in co-operation with the Bar Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This training is 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 2).