Representatives of the Serbian judiciary, including members of the High Judicial Council (HJC) and the State Prosecutorial Council (SPC), have attended a presentation of the research “Judiciary and the Use of Social Media” supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, following the request from national institutions. The research was performed by the Council of Europe consultants as part of an analysis of existing rules and practices on the usage of social media by individual judges and prosecutors in the member states.

The presentation covered a large number of areas of activities of the judiciary on social media, from sharing details about their private lives to expressing opinions on the work of institutions. Consultants noted that while participation in the public debate on the rule of law was accepted by members of the judiciary, expressing stances on political opinions and values has generally been deemed inappropriate.

The research has shown that there is an interest among the judiciary for additional training in the fields of ethics and digital skills. The consultants noted that the use of social media should be regulated through the Guidelines for the Implementation of the Codes of Ethics. Participants have shown keen interest in the findings and agreed to communicate the research outputs and recommendations to the Ethics Committees of both the HJC and the SPC. To support this activity, the material covering the research outputs will be made available online and in print.

The event was held under the action “Strengthening independence and accountability of the judiciary” which is part of the “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey II”, a co-operation initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe, which aims at assisting beneficiaries in the Western Balkans region and Turkey to comply with the Council of Europe standards and European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process, where relevant.