The protection of freedom of expression for whistleblowers and journalists is aimed at safeguarding the public interest and fostering the development of a democratic society. Over the past two days, judges and prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in training sessions focused on the application of European standards for the protection of the rights of whistleblowers and journalists.

Through the analysis of specific cases of the European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts, participants reflected on the shortcomings of domestic legislation, which may be inconsistent at the state level and may not provide adequate protection either to potential whistleblowers or to journalists.

The seminar emphasized the importance of applying the tripartite test in cases of restrictions on freedom of expression, in order to determine in each individual case whether such a restriction is justified and proportional, as per the standards set by the European Court for Human Rights, with the aim of preventing the “chilling effect” that disproportionate sanctions against journalists and whistleblowers may produce, which has detrimental consequences for freedom of expression.

The training session was organised within the action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PROFREX)”, implemented by the Division for Cooperation on Freedom of Expression of Council of Europe as part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.