Strengthening the capacities of local legal professionals to serve as educators in the realm of freedom of expression, in accordance with the standards outlined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), is a significant aspect of the contribution of the joint European Union and Council of Europe action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PROFREX)” to the broader safeguarding of freedom of expression and media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Fourteen members of the judiciary and academia from Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in a Training for Trainers (ToT) on freedom of expression, hosted in Banja Luka. During the programme, they received insights into recent ECtHR case-law and were introduced to methodologies for peer-to-peer adult education.

Moreover, they engaged in practical exercises, working in pairs to prepare and deliver presentations on various aspects of freedom of expression. The topics covered included the three-part test for balancing freedom of expression and the public interest, defamation, hate speech, journalist safety and source protection, access to public documents, freedom of expression vis-à-vis the judiciary, and whistleblower protection. This trainig was organised in colaboration with both entities Ceneres for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The PROFREX action, within which the training was organised, is implemented by the Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression of the Council of Europe, and is part of the joint European Union and the Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.