Svjetlana Milišić-Veličkovski Judge of the Supreme Court of the Federation of BiH and Council of Europe educator on Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, has opened the third cascade training for judges and prosecutors, organised in partnership between the Council of Europe and the Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of FBiH. She spoke about principles and standards of Article 10 and its practical implementation in front of the courts of BiH, and focused at the cases of libel.

Libel is one of the most common breaches of freedom of expression in front of the courts of BiH. Sanin Bogunić, the prosecutor of the Sarajevo Canton explored the issue of hate speech and the role of the media, whereas Amir Kapetanović, Judge of the County Court in Banja Luka, discussed the practical implementation of the triple test, through the case law of the Constitutional Court of BiH as well as the European Court of Human Rights. The participants, judges of the municipal courts of Sarajevo, Zenica, Široki Brijeg, Zavidovići, cantonal courts as well as the Constitutional Court of BiH took an active role in the discussions and working groups.

The seminar was organised within the framework of joint program of EU/Council of Europe, “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in South East Europe” (JUFREX). On the second day of the seminar the educators were Adnan Baručija, judge of the Cantonal Court of Zenica, and international expert Sandra Benčić from Croatia, who introduced the discussion on libel and hate speech online. They focused on the case law of the domestic courts and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in regards to Freedom of Expression.

This event was implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.