The Council of Europe HELP course (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) on freedom of expression continues to serve as a key tool for strengthening legal professionals’ understanding of European standards on media freedom and human rights in North Macedonia.
On 18 March 2025, the HELP online course on freedom of expression was launched for lawyers, tutored by two PRO-FREX trainers and HELP tutors. 27 lawyers successfully completed the course, which was delivered in Macedonian, marking a continued commitment to strengthening legal protection for freedom of expression.
Originally developed in 2016 and updated in 2020, the course was first adapted for North Macedonia in 2021 under the joint European Union and Council of Europe action “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in North Macedonia (JUFREX)”. It was translated and adapted to the local context to support legal professionals—judges, prosecutors, and lawyers—in understanding both domestic and European legal standards, particularly Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ECHR.
Participants were introduced to the HELP platform and trained to navigate complex issues such as media regulation, access to information, defamation, and the protection of journalistic sources. The updated 2025 version builds on this foundation, ensuring that legal professionals from North Macedonia remain equipped to apply the evolving case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It offers tailored content reflecting domestic legal developments and integrates recent ECtHR rulings, providing a more practical and context-relevant learning experience.
The HELP course on freedom of expression covers topics such as privacy and defamation, online freedom of expression, protection of sources, and freedom of expression in elections and the workplace. It concludes with a quiz, and participants who pass receive a certificate of completion.
HELP courses are now fully integrated into the regular training curricula of key legal institutions in North Macedonia, including the Judicial Academy and the Bar Association, ensuring sustainability and ongoing professional development in this vital area.
The HELP online course on freedom of expression in Macedonian was supported by the EU and Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and its action on “Protecting Freedom of Expression and of the Media in North Macedonia (PRO-FREX)”, implemented by the Council of Europe Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression.