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Opening of Human Rights Legal Clinic in Banja Luka and Zenica

Human rights education within university is closely related to raising the culture of human rights because young lawyers promote values ​​such as democracy, tolerance, multiculturalism, equality and non-discrimination. Ethical values ​​lead to sensitization to topics in the field of human rights, to the reduction of corruption in the judiciary, to the promotion of volunteer and pro bono work, as well as to advocacy for equal and efficient access to justice. In this regard, the Council of Europe launched a legal clinic on human rights for 36 students at law faculties in Banja Luka and Zenica, which will last during the winter semester of the academic year 2022/2023. 

The Council of Europe points at the importance of the right to education in the field of human rights, especially the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers from 2019, which largely represents the foundation of the basic principles on which education in the field of human rights should rest, and it refers to three important segments : 1) raising the level of knowledge; 2) improvement of skills; and 3) awareness raising in favour of the promotion and protection of human rights.

Accordingly, the Council of Europe produced an Analysis of the Study of Human Rights at Law Faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina (available in local language), which resulted in ten recommendations, among others:

  • Introduction of the Human Rights subject at law faculties
  • Support for professional deelopment of teachers who teach the subject of human rights
  • Organization of Moot court exercises
  • Teachers should be encouraged and motiated to use HELP courses within their subjects, or as an extracurricular actiity.
  • Organisation of legal clinics represent an important method of learning, which is oriented not only towards practical work, but also towards raising the awareness of students and their work in the field of policies.

The activities were carried out within the project “Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase III”, implemented by the Council of Europe thanks to the voluntary contribution of the Government of Norway.

Banja Luka and Zenica 13 October 2022
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DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Project title

Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Phase III

Country/region

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Budget

700 000 EUR

Donor

The Project is funded by voluntary contributions in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina

(2022–2025)-

Duration

24 months (1 January 2021 – 31 December 2023)

Partners and beneficiaries

Ministries of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska,  High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Supreme Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Supreme Court of Republika Srpska, Appellate Court of Brčko District; Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska; Law faculties of Universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina; judiciary in BiH, Office of Government Agents before the ECtHR.

Main objective

To ensure a better protection of human rights of individuals under the jurisdiction of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the help of an efficient judiciary which delivers a timely, high-quality and coherent justice in line with the ECHR standards and the ECtHR case law.

What do we expect to achieve?
  • Enhancement of fora and measures for harmonisation of judicial practice and prevention of conflicting case-law;
  • Strengthening the mechanism for the execution of the ECtHR judgments as a prerequisite for effective and uniform national implementation of ECHR standards.
  • Strengthening the capacities of legal professionals to apply ECHR standards in coherent manner.
  • Improved efficiency of courts and ensured better judicial protection for citizens in line with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights;
  • Strengthened capacity of National Training Institutions for judges and prosecutors in delivering a structured human rights training;
  • Support to law faculties to provide human rights training.

Key activities

- Development of a structured training modules in line with Human rights training curriculum for initial and continuous training of judges and prosecutors;

- Delivering of a structured training for judges/legal advisors from the case-law departments of the highest courts on consistency of judicial case-law and early identification of case law inconsistency and ECHR standards;

- Training of the representatives of Office of Government Agents before the ECtHR trained on execution process procedures and legal drafting of execution process related documents;

- Providing support to the national institutions in the process of execution of ECtHR judgements;

- Establishment of a pool of trainers for initial training for newly appointed judges and prosecutors;

- Thematic extracurricular activities on the ECHR standards for law students in Bosnia and Herzegovina;

- Establishment of preconditions for a systemic introduction of a Human Rights curriculum at the public law faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.