Judges and advisers from the constitutional courts of Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia gathered in Belgrade on 31 March and 1 April 2025, to advance application of human rights standards in their judicial work. The regional working meeting provided a platform for legal experts to exchange best practices and reinforce cooperation in upholding fundamental rights and freedoms.

Designed as an interactive workshop, the two-day event facilitated in-depth discussions on pressing legal challenges, with a particular focus on the right to liberty and security of person, the position of the victims’ criminal proceedings, the right to just satisfaction in the constitutional appeal procedures as well as the right to family life. Participants engaged in case study analyses, examined comparative jurisprudence, and explored innovative approaches to strengthening judicial reasoning and legal interpretation in light of evolving European and international human rights norms.

Ms Snežana Marković, President of the Constitutional Court of Republic Serbia welcomed the ongoing regular meetings of constitutional courts, noting that courts in the region share a similar legal background and face comparable legal challenges. Therefore, exchanging experiences has proven to yield the best results.

Ms Snežana Armenko, President of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro underlined that peer-to-peer exchange proved to be especially effective in fostering practical solutions and reinforcing professional networks among legal experts in the region.

The event underscored the importance of continued regional dialogue and judicial cooperation in ensuring that constitutional courts remain robust guardians of human rights and the rule of law.

The event was organised within the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, as the result of co-operation of actions "Strengthening accountability of the judicial system and enhancing protection of victims’ rights in Montenegro”, “Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia” and “Support to a coherent national implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and facilitating execution of ECtHR judgments in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, funded by the Council of Europe Action Plan for BiH 2022-2025