Sixteen judges, senior prosecutors, investigators, advisors, and trainers of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors attended the workshop aimed at raising awareness of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the External Oversight Mechanism. The two-day session, held on 28–29 January 2026 in Ohrid, was organised through close co-operation with the Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors in Skopje, and North Macedonia’s Government Agent to the Court.
The discussion focused on domestic legislative frameworks, Council of Europe standards, and the state’s positive obligations for effective investigations, with particular attention to the Court’s case law relating to North Macedonia. The workshop also addressed cases that have been communicated by the Court to the state authorities, emphasising the importance of effective investigations in upholding Article 3 rights under the Convention; these cases make a significant part in the shortcomings identified by the Court, some of which are reported to the Committee of Ministers under the supervision mechanism.
Looking back into the past decade, the results and challenges faced by the External Oversight Mechanism were discussed with the participants, taking stock of the achievements and required interventions that would provide effective protection of human rights.
The European Union and the Council of Europe have supported the establishment and functioning of the External Oversight Mechanism, which addresses the cases where persons with police authority, while being on or off duty, use force, coercion or serious threats, leading to death, bodily injury, unlawful arrest, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
This activity was conducted under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye” and its action “Strengthening the capacities of the penitentiary system in North Macedonia”.
