A principal contribution of the Horizontal Facility programme is to enhance the accountability and access of the judicial systems in the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and, thus, ensure better protection of human rights, in line with the European values and the Council of Europe recommendations. The actions in the field have continued to provide important assistance and capacity building to domestic actors, in their efforts to improve human rights standards in the judiciary.

In North Macedonia, 35 lawyers attended the five-day ‘Training of Trainers’ on the “Provision of free legal aid in North Macedonia”. They focused on improving their presentation and communication skills through practical exercises and on delivering trainings in front of their colleagues on free legal aid topics using different techniques and simulations.

Advisers and judges of constitutional courts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia attended the regional working meeting in Montenegro  to share experience and knowledge on the application of relevant human rights standards in their daily work.

A roundtable focusing on execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to Serbia concerning ill-treatment in police custody and ineffective investigations into such allegations (Stanimirović v. Serbia group) took place in Belgrade in March. Consultations gathered representatives of the domestic institutions involved in the process of the execution of the said judgment, such as Serbian Government Agent before the European Court of Human Rights and representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ministry of Justice, and Office of the Protector of Citizens.

In Albania, the public institutions engaged in the field of property rights took a significant step towards enhancing their expertise, during the two-day ‘Training of Trainers’ on "Property rights and the execution of court decisions”. The training welcomed high-level representatives from crucial institutions including the State Advocate Office, State Agency of Cadastre, National Inspectorate on the Protection of Territory, Agency of Treatment of Property, and the Ministry of Justice.