Lawyers from Republika Srpska participated in a cascade training on defamation in the judiciary system.

The participants refreshed their knowledge on the basic principles of freedom expression and the three-step test. Furthermore, lawyers were trained on defamation in both the domestic case studies and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as on the standards set by the European Convention of Human Rights. Other topics were the freedom of expression and the internet, as well as protection and freedom of expression of lawyers.

The goal of the seminar was to raise the capacities of local judiciary on the standards of freedom of expression and defamation, as set by the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court. Five lawyers participated in the training. The presentations, discussion and exercises took place online – in the form of a webinar.

Council of Europe expert, Jelena Surčulija Milojević and local experts - judge Mediha Ćosić and lawyer Saša Topić, were educators at the training. This event was organised in partnership with the Bar Association of Republika Srpska.

This training was organised within the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, and its action on “Freedom of expression and freedom of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (JUFREX)”.