Lawyers from Sarajevo, Tuzla, Bugojno, Bihać and Zenica participated in a two-day cascade training on hate speech, which included the application of the European standards established by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) as well as in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights but also in local legislative framework and practice.

Defining the hate speech is a sensitive segment in the application of European standards. The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights emphasises the importance of the overall context and taking into the consideration each individual case. Emphasis is put on the dual model upon which the European Court of Justice evaluates cases of hate speech; in cases where a triple test is applied - the proportionality test, where it is determined whether the violation of freedom of expression is within the domain of Article 10 § 2 of the ECHR and when the state has the right to restrict freedom of expression or it is a type of expression which, under Article 17, where it is automatically excluded from the protection of the Convention by reason of a substantive attack on the values protected by the ECHR.

The training was based on an interactive method, so the lawyers had the opportunity to read, discuss and present various examples from the practice of both European and domestic courts, and thus further develop their skills in applying European standards in their own work.

The aim of the training was to further strengthen the capacity of the local judiciary on standards of freedom of expression in the context of hate speech, whose presence has been intensified in the public space of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and according to recent research. The educators at this training were Sevima Sali Terzić from the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Amir Kapetanović, Judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Irena Puzić Obradović, a lawyer from Doboj. The seminar was organised in co-operation with the Bar Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This training was organized within the joint program of the European Union and the 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)”.