On 05 October, the HELP course on Family Law was launched for some 30 lawyers from Bosnia and Hercegovina during an in-person event organised in Banja Luka by the HRTF supported “HELP in the Western Balkans” project.

The event was addressed by Irena PUZIC, the Head of the Training Unit of the Bar Association of Republika Srpska and a member of the HELP Consultative Board. Ms. Puzic presented the newly established cooperation in between the Bar Association of Republika Srpska and the Council of Europe emphasising the importance of HELP courses for the work of the lawyers and other legal professionals and announcing the future cooperation with the HELP in the Western Balkans project through the implementation of many other HELP courses.

Jasminka PERUNICIC ALLEN, Project Coordinator, CoE, introduced the participants with the HELP methodology and the main aim of the project. The recently certified HELP tutors, Maja VRBLJANAC and Stefan MOCEVIC, presented the HELP course on Family Law and the additional materials from the domestic legislation which will be placed on the platform for the participants through the implementation of the course in the following weeks. The fruitful discussion in between the tutors and the participants marked this event revealing a busy e-learning time ahead.

The HELP course on Family Law provides a comprehensive overview of International and European family law related standards, case-law and good practices. It is the first HELP course to provide a single resource on the topic, covering the extensive CoE standards and EU law, as well as soft-law instruments on the matter. It integrates training materials previously developed by the CoE and is complementary to the HELP courses on child-friendly justice and the other one on violence against women (both already available in several languages on the HELP e-learning platform).

The HELP in the Western Project is financed by the Human Rights Trust Fund. The main partners of the Project are the National training institutions and Bar associations from six beneficiaries in the Western Balkans and members of the HELP network: Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

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The HELP online course on Family Law has a duration of 10 hours and is accessible also in self-learning (open, self-paced) format at this link. It is available in 13 languages, among which English. Participants who complete all the modules can generate electronic Statements of Accomplishment in proof of their acquired knowledge and skills.