Within the scope of the Joint Project “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX),” co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe, a training course on freedom of expression and defamation for judges and legal professionals was co-organised in cooperation with the Justice Academy on 10-11 July 2018 in Skopje.

The aim of the training was to enhance participants’ knowledge on Article 10 of the ECHR, notably freedom of expression in the context of defamation cases involving public figures, journalists or media. The training course included sessions on the concept of defamation, relevant domestic and international legal framework, rights and limitations pertaining to freedom of expression and the principle of proportionality of sanctions, as well as the application of the European Court of Human Rights legal principles related to national defamation cases.

The training, involving 18 participants, including judges dealing with freedom of expression cases in the Skopje first instance civil court (Skopje II court) as well as judges’ assistants and lawyers, was led by an international expert, Ms Ivana Roagna and two national experts, Ms Lidija Dimova and Mr Aleksandar Shopov. The international expert shared with participants ECtHR court practice on Article 10 of the European Convention, while the national experts focused on domestic case law.

Participants actively participated in analysing Article 10 related case studies with a view to learn how to apply ECHR standards in domestic defamation cases.

The views expressed therein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.