Access to public information is an important feature of democratic societies, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and and the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents (Tromso Convention). Twenty-six public information officers from police administrations in Republika Srpska strengthened their knowledge of European standards on the protection of the right to free access to information during a two-day training session. The training programme emphasized the application of European standards when balancing the public's right to access official information against the right to privacy and personal data protection. A special focus was also placed on examining access to information from the perspective of journalists, other media actors, and civil society organisations through practical examples.

Participants discussed free access to official information in relation to the rights to privacy and personal data protection, as well as establishing a balance among these rights in line with Council of Europe standards. Discussions were grounded in case-law examples from the European Court of Human Rights. The second day was dedicated to analysing domestic legislation and practices, identifying legal implementation challenges, and conducting practical exercises on processing specific access-to-information requests, accompanied by group presentations and discussions.

The main objective of the training was to respond to the specific needs of information officers in police administrations in Republika Srpska and to advance the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of access to information in accordance with Council of Europe standards. The event was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe project "Enhancing the Integrity of the Information Space in Bosnia and Herzegovina."