A judge of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Registrar of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina have taken part in the Seventh Annual Rule of Law Forum for Southeast Europe, which was held under specific circumstances on 16 and 17 October 2020 on the topic of “COVID-19 and the Rights Protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.”
The central part of the forum was held in Strasbourg, while representatives of the highest judicial institutions from seven countries of Southeast Europe gathered in national working centers in their respective capitals: Belgrade, Podgorica, Priština, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana and Zagreb, and participated in the forum’s work by way of video-link conference, in compliance with the current measures to protect people’s health.
The Forum that was, in the organization of the Aire Center for Western Balkans and Civil Rights Defenders, led by the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano, brought together sitting and former ECtHR judges, CoE Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović, representatives of the Court, ombudsmen, representatives of countries before the Strasbourg Court, representatives of training centers, universities, non-governmental organizations and other legal experts.
During the session the participants had the opportunity to discuss the rights defined in the European Convention that are affected by the pandemic, and the measures the Western Balkans countries have undertaken, as well as the protection of the convention rights during pandemics. The Forum also discussed the functioning of the judiciary during pandemics, and derogation from the Convention in extraordinary situations.
