Building on the successful co-operation with the training institutions in North Macedonia, the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors and the North Macedonia Bar Association, an advanced training for trainers on freedom of expression, specifically tailored for legal professionals, was launched.

This intensive training, supported by the EU and Council of Europe, aims to equip judges, prosecutors and lawyers with the latest tools and knowledge to defend and promote freedom of expression and safety of journalists. Under the guidance of international and local Council of Europe consultants, participants engaged in dynamic discussions and analysis of domestic practices as well as case studies of the European Court of Human Rights during the three-day training.

“This type of trainings has helped us better understand the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, and how to apply it in our domestic context when deciding on cases related to freedom of expression and safety of journalists,”, stated a participating judge.

This capacity building activity will result in the establishment of a pool of well-equipped trainers who will ensure further knowledge transfer to their peers in the respective training institutions.  

This training was organised by the Division for co-operation on freedom of expression under the action “Protecting freedom of expression and of the media in North Macedonia (PRO-FREX),” which is part of the joint programme of the European Union and Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye 2023-2026”.