The HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) online course on Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) was launched in Montenegro on 27 April 2022. The course is taking place in the context of the human rights legal clinic and will be attended by 50 law students from three law faculties in Montenegro (University of Montenegro, University Donja Gorica, Mediterranean University).

This HELP online course aims to assist students to understand the ECHR system and the ECtHR functioning. The topics are explored in a practical way, by using presentations, interactive screens, knowledge tests and reflective exercises. The course consists of two parts: the substantive modules and the final assessment.

A certified tutor will guide the students through the modules of the course, thus ensuring that they are enabled to recognise the relevance of direct implementation of human rights standards at a national level, and to automatically link national case-law to the possible implementation of the ECHR. The students who pass the final assessment will receive the certificate on successful completion of the course.

The course was developed under the European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) of the Council of Europe, by using the HELP methodology.

The implementation of the course within the human rights legal clinics in Montenegro was organised within the action "Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro", which is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”.