Discrepancies in national judicial practice may affect legal certainty and lead to the unpredictability of the application of legal norms by national courts. Diverging interpretations given by different courts in similar cases create confusion for the parties and diminish the confidence the society places in the judicial system.

Legal professionals are confronted with immense responsibility when it comes to the active application of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights at a national level. Yet lack of harmonised judicial practice leads to varying approaches to the European Convnetion on Human Rights implementation, which inevitably reduces its impact on the state of human rights in Serbia.

Therefore, legal professionals should continuously improve their professional knowledge and better understanding of good practices of the European Court on Human Rights. To achieve this aim it is important to enhance the judicial dialogue and exchange of good practices at national level. 

In this context the Council of Europe organised a conference in  Belgrade on 12 December 2017 on  “Understanding the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights for a better protection of human rights at national level”, during which the first commentary to the Convention in Serbian was presented. The commentary, prepared by leading Serbian scholars, provides legal professionals with a detailed explanation of certain legal concepts and principals used by the European Court.

Dragomir Milojević, President of the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Serbia and Head of the High Judicial Council, as well as other high-level Serbian officials and renowned academics attended the event.

The event was held within the framework of the Action “Supporting effective remedies and mutual legal assistance” implemented under the joint programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal facility for Western Balkans and Turkey”.