News (2021)
Launch of the Project Action in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Personal Data Protection
On 7 December 2021, the Council of Europe Project “Strengthening Media Freedom, Internet Governance and Personal Data Protection” SMIP-GE launched the Project Action in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Personal Data Protection, which will be implemented in cooperation with the State...
Training on monitoring municipal electoral campaigns in audio-visual media
The EU/CoE action on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the media in Kosovo (JUFREX2) organized a two-day training for Independent Media Commission staff from Monitoring and Analyses and Legal departments on 09-10 December 2021. The training aimed at equipping the Independent Media Commission...
Guide on Article 17 of the European Convention available in Serbian
Prohibition of abuse of rights
The “Guide on Article 17 of the European Convention on Human Rights” is part of the series of Case-Law Guides published by the European Court of Human Rights to inform legal practitioners about the fundamental judgments and decisions delivered by the Strasbourg Court. It has been translated...
20th Plenary meeting of the CDMSI
On 1-3 December, the Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) held its 20th Plenary meeting, which closes another biannual cycle of the Committee’s work. Among the important outcomes of the meeting are: approval of the draft Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to...
Cooperation between the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee of the Parliament of Georgia and the Georgian Internet Governance Forum (GeoIGF)
The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee of the Parliament of Georgia and the Georgian Internet Governance Forum (GeoIGF) was signed on 30 November 2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The ceremony of the signature of the Memorandum of Cooperation took place at...
Council of Europe at the Internet Governance Forum 2021
The Council of Europe will participate in the debates of the 16th UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to be hosted by the government of Poland in a hybrid format in Katowice from 6 to 10 December, focusing its contribution in particular on the new challenges to the protection of human rights...
Fourth training on protection of journalists for judges and prosecutors in Serbia
The fourth training on “Protection and safety of journalists” for judges and prosecutors was organised under the framework of the action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Serbia (JUFREX)”, implemented within the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal...
7th Internet Governance Forum – GeoIGF 2021
An annual conference “The 7th Internet Governance Forum – GeoIGF 2021” was held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 30 November and 1 December with the support of the Council of Europe. The 2-day conference was held in hybrid format and hosted 10 thematic panel discussions, each focusing on key challenges and...
Publication on media regulatory authorities and media pluralism is now available in Serbian
The publication “Media regulatory authorities and media pluralism” prepared under the regional action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)” is now available in Serbian. The publication aims to contribute to a wider understanding of the concept of media...
Start of the online courses on “Freedom of Expression” and “Protection and Safety of Journalists” for judges and prosecutors in Serbia
The implementation of the tutored online courses on “Freedom of Expression” and “Protection and Safety of Journalists” for judges and prosecutors in Serbia has started on 23 November 2021. The courses have been prepared in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe’s action...
Training on New Technologies and Human Rights
On 19 November 2021, Patrick Penninckx, Head of Information Society Department, made a presentation on ”New Technologies and Human Rights” at the training seminar “International law and human rights” organised by the International Institute of Human Rights / René-Cassin Foundation on 15-20...
Latest developments in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on freedom of expression in Bulletin No.3
The Bulletin on the “Latest developments in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights on Freedom of Expression” constitutes a unique tool for sharing information on new trends and developments in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court), and at the same time,...
Local trainers in the Western Balkans prepared to conduct online courses on “Freedom of Expression” and “Protection and Safety of Journalists”
The online courses on “Freedom of Expression” and “Protection and Safety of Journalists” have been developed by the joint European Union and Council of Europe’s action on “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in South-East Europe (JUFREX)” and in cooperation with the Council of Europe’s...
Statement by the Chair of the CDMSI on the occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
In Europe and beyond, journalists continue to be the target of attacks impairing their everyday work and spoiling their crucial role of watchdogs of freedom of expression. Intimidated, threatened, target of abusive litigation, verbally and physically assaulted, the alerts received by the Council...
Research study on Media Habits of Adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina presented
On 27 October 2021, a webinar was organised during which key results and findings of the research study on ‘Media Habits of Adults in Bosnia and Herzegovina’ were presented and discussed. The study presents key findings and marks the first comprehensive and statistically representative research...
Media and Information Literacy Fair in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In light of European Commission's ‘European Media Literacy Week’ and other similar global and national initiatives, Media and Information Literacy Days in BiH - a campaign taking place between 24-31 October 2021 was launched by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina,...
Roundtable on Legal protection of political pluralism in the media on 29 October 2021
The EU/CoE action on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Kosovo* (JUFREX2) in cooperation with the Association of Journalists (AJK), organised a roundtable discussion “Legal protection of political pluralism in the media” on 29 October 2021. The event involved representatives of...
Iceland signs the European Convention on Transfrontier Television
On 21 October 2021 Iceland signed the European Convention on Transfrontier Television as the 41 party. This important international treaty was open for signature by the member States and by the other States Parties to the European Cultural Convention and by the European Union on 05 May 1989 and...
The Committee of Experts on Combating Hate Speech held its final meeting
The Committee of Experts on Combating Hate Speech held its fourth and final meeting in a hybrid format on 6-7 and 20-21 October. ADI/MSI-DIS members and other participants held constructive discussions on the draft Recommendation on Combating Hate Speech and its draft Explanatory Memorandum. They...
Cascade training on hate speech for judges, prosecutors, and police representatives of Republika Srpska
Cascade training on hate speech for the judiciary and police members of Republika Srpska gathered 16 participants. Training on criminal-law aspects of hate speech has been conducted through the discussion on international framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a two-track approach of European Court...
Training of Trainers for legal professionals on freedom of expression and freedom of media in Pristina
The EU/CoE action on Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the media in Kosovo* (JUFREX2) in cooperation with the Academy of Justice and the Bar Association organised a four-day Training of Trainers (ToT) for legal professionals on freedom of expression and freedom of media, from 19-22 October...
Cascade training on defamation for judges of Republika Srpska
Judges and legal advisors from Republika Srpska (RS), participated in a two-day cascade training on the application of the The Law on Protection against Defamation in the judiciary system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including understanding and application of European standards as set up by...
Zuper.md - the first multimedia platform for children in Moldova, developed with Council of Europe support
On 21st of October, the Council of Europe, jointly with the national public broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova” launched a new media product on the market - the first multimedia digital platform in the Republic of Moldova for children aged 5-10 years old. By offering a diverse range of content for...
Tackling human rights in the digital sphere: international symposium
An international event to be held on 18 October on the theme of “Human Rights in the digital sphere” will bring together experts from different legal systems and jurisdictions, judges of the European Court of Human Rights and governmental representatives from Europe and beyond to examine the...
Media Freedom in Sports
Patrick Penninckx, the Head of the Information Society Department, addressed the issue of Media Freedom in Sports at the annual general assembly of the News Media Coalition on 13 October 2021. In his presentation he listed the challenges facing the sports arena such as hate speech, disinformation...
Public Broadcasting, A Choice for Democracy
Council of Europe was represented at the international conference "A Choice for Democracy", organised in Brussels on 30 September by the Public Broadcasters International (PBI) organisation. The conference opening was marked by the address of Věra Jourová, European Commission Vice-President for...
Training on protection of whistle-blowers with lawyers and police officers
The EU/CoE Action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Kosovo*” (JUFREX2), in cooperation with the Bar Association, organised a two-day training seminar for lawyers and police officers on 29-30 September 2021. 28 lawyers and 11 police officers (18 men and 11 women) were trained and...
Improving cooperation between parliamentarians and journalists for greater accountability and transparency of the Assembly in North Macedonia
The joint European Union and Council of Europe action on Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in North Macedonia (JUFREX), in co-operation with the Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), organised an inter-professional webinar with journalists and representatives of the...
Bar Association of Albania enlarges the pool of local trainers in freedom of expression and the media
11 lawyers of the Bar Association of Albania participated and successfully accomplished the training on the European standards on freedom of expression and the media as set by European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and related caselaw. They will enlarge the pool of certified local trainers...
The need for digital citizenship education for all age groups
On 24 September 2021, Patrick Penninckx, the Head of the Information Society Department addressed the delegates of the 24th extraordinary congress of the European Seniors Union (ESU) held in Madrid. In his presentation, entitled “The need for media and information literacy for all age groups” the...
Following the decision of the Committee of Ministers on 16 March 2022 the Russian Federation is no longer a member of the Council of Europe. The website will be updated as soon as possible to take account of this development.
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Art. 10 European Convention on Human Rights
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