A one day in-service training for lawyers in the format of a legal clinic on defamation cases and the balancing act in freedom of expression cases was organised on 23 March 2018 in Tirana, Albania, by the Albanian Bar Association within the framework of the EU/CoE Joint Programme “Reinforcing Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Expression and the Media in South Eastern Europe” (JUFREX).

Participants were presented with the balancing exercise in defamation cases—balancing reputation rights and freedom of speech as well as the standards based on ECtHR jurisprudence. They simulated a legal clinic and through role play represented the various parties in an actual anonymised ECtHR case. Participants applied the test and discussed implications based on procedure and law as well as the standards established by ECtHR. An application of the national legal framework was also tested.

The participating lawyers expressed satisfaction that the training is filling a void of discussions on Article 10 of the ECHR in Albania and emphasized its usefulness for their legal practice. Several participants had or were still representing cases invoking Article 10 and found the training material directly applicable to their cases.

This event was implemented with the financial assistance of the European Union and the Council of Europe. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.