The 12th regional conference of civil law legal professionals was held last 19-21 October in Jahorina. It was organised by the Associations of Judges in co-operation with judicial training centres, the Judicial Commission of Brčko District, the Bar Associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the Action “Strengthening the Human Rights Ombudsman to Fight Discrimination”.

It welcomed  judges, professors, lawyers, notaries and other legal professionals from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, up to a total of more than 550 participants. Discussions were held on different panels on the outstanding civil law issues, from both a practical and theoretical perspective. The sessions were also devoted to the European anti-discrimination standards and prevention and protection mechanisms, whereby Ms Jasminka Džumhur, the Human Rights Ombudsperson of Bosnia and Herzegovina, briefed the audience on the role of national human rights protection institutions and called for the establishment of a dialogue and co-operation at the national level of all legal professionals, especially the judges.

The  Action  “Strengthening the Human Rights Ombudsman to Fight Discrimination” is part of the joint  European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”. Conceived as a three-year programme (May 2016 – May 2019), it focuses on three themes: ensuring justice, fighting corruption, economic crime and organised crime, as well as combating discrimination and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups.