On 5 December, an international conference “Freedom of Expression and Constitutional Jurisprudence in the Western Balkans” was held under the Project. The conference provided ground for discussions and exchange by the constitutional courts in the region on their experience and best practices in implementation of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and national legal frameworks for the protection of independent, diverse and pluralistic media landscape.

Representatives of the Constitutional Courts of Kosovo*, North Macedonia and Turkey gathered and presented some situations in their relevant contexts and further discussed main challenges faced with in the field of freedom of expression and particularly freedom of media in Europe and the Western Balkans. The conference also hosted distinguished international experts with comprehensive experience in case law of the European Court of Human Rights as well as representatives of journalists’ associations and media regulatory bodies in Kosovo*.

The main conclusion of the conference was that with the new challenges of the digital age, free and independent media cannot be sustainable without a protective legal and institutional environment. Such environment shall be ensured by clear and precise laws and effective judicial review to prevent abuse. In that respect, regional and international cooperation and exchange was assessed as being very beneficial.

The event also contributed to raising awareness of general and professional public on the role of constitutional courts in the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and protection and fulfilment of the right to freedom of expression in national contexts in the Western Balkans. The project “Improving the Protection of European Human Rights Standards by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo*” is funded by Norwegian government and implemented by the Council of Europe.