Representatives of the Constitutional Court and Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights have successfully completed the online course on procedural safeguards in Montenegro and received the HELP certificates issued by the Council of Europe.

The course is implemented as a part of the ongoing activities aimed at increasing the capacities of the national institutions on relevant EU acquis and standards developed within the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. In the context of the ongoing revision of the criminal legislation in Montenegro and its alignment with the European standards, these capacity building activities on the noted issues are more relevant than ever.

Over the period of three months, with tutors’ assistance, the participants have broadened their knowledge about relevant international standards safeguarding the procedural rights. This interactive course developed by the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Secretariat includes various practical exercises, combining both the fundamental procedural rights of accused and suspected persons in criminal proceedings (focusing on EU Directive topics, notably the presumption of innocence) and the rights of victims of crime (emphasis on access to justice).

Even though the course in itself is very demanding, the advisors managed to dedicate time and energy, in parallel with the ongoing tasks to complete the course. High level of knowledge and legal reasoning was demonstrated during the course by the participants which shows the good preparation of the young generation of human rights lawyers in Montenegro.

The action "Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro" is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.