Activity Details (ID# 3234)

Activity Synopsis

Target group: Ukrainian judges, lawyers and journalists

The main objectives of the seminar were to present an overview of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, to Ukrainian Courts’ practice in cases concerning the mass media (with special regard to defamation, insult, criticism of public figures); to present the European and relevant Ukrainian practice concerning access to information, protection of sources, state secrecy and whistle-blowing; to raise awareness about the implementation of Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights and case law on this Article; to present concrete examples from current practice and prepare a case-study in the workshop with the participants of the seminar and to define the perspectives for the Ukrainian judges’ implementation of European standards in their practice.

 

The participants of the seminar received relevant information and documents on the implementation of the ECHR, in particular, Ukrainian versions of the ECHR, case law of the European Court of Human Rights on Article 10 of the Convention, a collection of recent decisions of the European Court on Article 10, analysis of Ukrainian legislation in the context of the implementation of the ECHR.

Three role games were conducted, two using foreign examples and one Ukrainian material. The games demonstrated that the judges had mastered the main principles and approaches of the European Court concerning violations of Article 10 of the Convention.

The judges who participated in the seminar played an active role in the discussion with the experts, which made it possible to define the circle of the participants, mostly interested in such problems. It will help to involve them in future training activities on this subject.

A questionnaire distributed to participants at the end of the seminar, demonstrated the high esteem for this seminar, and the topicality and timeliness of this activity.
 

The Seminar allowed real dialogue between Ukrainian judges and Western and Ukrainian experts and the sharing of experiences concerning the respect for freedom of expression.

The Ukrainian judges noted the low level of protection for journalists in cases considered by the Ukrainian courts.

The majority of the participants were interested in following future training activities on this subject, which showed their understanding of the topics of the seminar and the possibility of conducting future training sessions.

The Seminar was covered extensively in the local mass media (TV and radio programmes).
 

Judges from the district (local) and appeal courts from 4 regions of Ukraine (Poltava, Sumy, Chernigiv, Kharkiv), lawyers dealing with cases related to freedom of expression, journalists.

 

Ms I. Blauuw, Vice-President, Regional Court of Zwolle (the Netherlands)
Ms V. Alaburic, Lawyer, Zagreb (Croatia)
 

Mr Olexander Pavichenko, Director of the Information Office of the Council of Europe, Co-ordinator of the Action Plan for the media in Ukraine