An online course on the “Admissibility criteria in applications submitted to the European Court of Human Rights” has brought together 36 lawyers and Constitutional Court advisors from Serbia  to strengthen their knowledge on the requirements that the applications submitted to the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) must meet.

The course, which was previously adapted to Serbian with support of the action “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia”, a part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, is organised in cooperation with the HELP Programme in the Western Balkans and the Serbian Bar Association’s Academy.

The aim of the course is to enable participants to understand the criteria governing the admissibility of applications submitted to the Court, as well as the procedure before the Court when determining the admissibility of an application. It is tutored by Zorana Jadrijević Mladar, Serbian Government Agent before the Court, and Vladimir Marinkov, a lawyer with extensive knowledge of the Court's practice. Through interactive modules, case studies and practical examples, participants will strengthen their knowledge on admissibility criteria for the applications submitted to the Court.

By strengthening participants’ understanding of admissibility requirements, the training will help Serbian legal professionals to better prepare and present cases to the European Court of Human Rights. This increased capacity is vital for ensuring that serious human rights concerns are duly considered and addressed within the European human rights system, thus advancing the protection of fundamental rights in Serbia.

The course is freely available in self-learning format on the CoE HELP e-learning platform. The overall length of the online course is approximatively 5 hours and those who complete it in self-learning format can obtain an electronic ‘Statement of accomplishment’.