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Round table on the application of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the practice of domestic courts

The application of the standards set by the European Court of Human Rights in detention cases was the topic of the round table organized by the action “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia” in cooperation with the Constitutional Court. The round table gathered 75 representatives of the Constitutional Court, as well as judges and prosecutors from all levels, providing them with an opportunity to jointly discuss and consider, from various perspectives, the challenges faced in practice when deciding on and extending detention.

Milena Rašić and Nataša Plavšić, judges of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, presented the practice of domestic courts. A significant part of the round table was dedicated to analysing cases in which the European Court of Human Rights (the European Court) found that Serbia had violated Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and to the execution of those judgments. Participants had the opportunity, in conversation with lawyers from the European Court and the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court, to explore ways to change their practice to align it with European standards and thus prevent future violations of Article 5 of the Convention.

The round table was organized as part of the broader efforts of the action “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia” project, which is part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe, the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey,” to improve the application of the European Convention on Human Rights at the domestic level through the exchange of professional knowledge.

Belgrade 2 June 2026
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The action “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia” is designed to facilitate and contribute to the protection of human rights in Serbia by and before domestic judicial authorities in line with European human rights standards.

This action is implemented within the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” running from 2023 until 2026.

 

What is the goal and objective of the action?

The main objective of the action is to ensure that right-holders in Serbia enjoy their rights in line with the European human rights standards and benefit from high-quality service of the judicial system.

 

Who benefits from the action?

  • Judiciary and future legal professionals in Serbia will benefit from the action by having access to training and resources that improve their ability to handle human rights related cases and execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
  • People of Serbia will benefit from the action by having their human rights better protected at the domestic level.
  • Judicial Academy, Government Agent before the European Court of Human Rights, Law Faculties, Ministry of Justice, the Constitutional Court, The Supreme Court of Cassation Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office and Ministry of European Integration, will benefits from the action by having access to the Council of Europe expertise and being supported in their institutional/administrative capacity building activities.

 

How does the action work?

  • through conferences/capacity building activities/round tables/placements to strengthen the knowledge of (future) legal professionals
  • by facilitating dialogue among the judiciary and other stakeholders for the purpose of more coherent implementation of the standards set out by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) at the domestic level
  • through streamlining the process of the execution of ECtHR judgments, the action will involve capacity-building activities, experts' legislative assessments and awareness-raising activities focusing on the execution process and its importance in the domestic human rights protection
  • the action builds on the best practices and results of co-operation under previous two phases of the programme: action “Supporting effective remedies and mutual legal assistance in Serbia” (2016 – 2019) and “Strengthening the effective legal remedies to human rights violations in Serbia” (2019 – 2022)

 

What do we expect to achieve?

  • the mechanism for the execution of the ECtHR judgements in relation to Serbia is strengthened, as well as the position of the Government’s Agent before the ECtHR as de facto co-ordinator of the execution process at the domestic level
  • the capacity of legal (future) professionals to protect and promote human rights by applying the ECHR provisions and the ECtHR case-law in their daily work is reinforced

 

What is the budget of the action?

The total budget of the action is 1 000 000 EUR.

The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).

 

How to get more information?

 

About Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye

The “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe that enables the Western Balkans Beneficiaries and Türkiye to meet their reform agendas in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy and to comply with the European standards, which is also a priority for the EU enlargement process.