Three Judges from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) joined over a thousand members of the Serbian judiciary in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, from 21 to 24 May, reaffirming the importance of aligning domestic judicial practices with European human rights standards.

These include Mateja Đurović (Serbia), Peter Paczolay (Hungary), and Stéphane Pisani (Luxembourg), whose participation was supported under the joint EU and Council of Europe action "Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia" with a view to promote exchange between the ECtHR and the Serbian judiciary. 

Judge Paczolay, who delivered opening remarks alongside Janos Babity, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, highlighted the significance of 2025 as the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, the foundation of the human rights protection guaranteed to citizens of all of the Council of Europe members. He also emphasised the crucial role of the domestic judiciary in the European system of the human rights protection.

The three judges delivered presentations on three topical issues: the admissibility of evidence obtained through encrypted communication applications (Sky ECC et al.), trafficking in human beings with reference to the autonomous concept of victim and the protection of the safety of journalists with reference to the rights protected from civil law perspective. Their contributions provided the Serbian judiciary with the insights into the ECtHR perspective and relevant case-law.

Support to the participation of the three ECtHR Judges in the Annual conference is a part of the broader efforts of the action „Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia“ to strengthen vertical dialogue between national judiciary and the European Court of Human Rights. The action is a part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe „Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye“.