Press Council: Inter-professional Seminar for Judiciary and Media Actors

JAHORINA, (Patria) - The Press Council, the self-regulatory body for print and online media in Bosnia and Herzegovina, started today a seminar/workshop on the pre-judicial mediation procedure of media self-regulatory and regulatory bodies, within the joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union, JUFREX - Strengthening Judicial Expertise on Freedom of Speech in the Media in SEE, on Jahorina.

The aim of the seminar is to strengthen judicial expertise and understanding of freedom of media reporting and responsible journalism in BiH media, as well as to empower journalists to follow ethical standards of professional and responsible reporting.

Ljiljana Zurovac, Director of the Press Council Program in BiH, opened the seminar with a welcome address.

Vanja Ibrahimbegović, Project Manager of the Council of Europe for the JUFREX project, presented the project and explained the importance of its implementation for BiH.

The one-day seminar gathered around 40 participants from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina: media representatives, editors and journalists, representatives of media organizations, Municipal and Basic Courts, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, the Association of Judges of the Federation of BiH, the Bar Association of the Federation of BiH, and lawyers.

Seminar participants will discuss media regulation and self-regulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, media self-regulation and regulation as a pre-judicial procedure, professional ethics, freedom of speech and awareness of responsibility towards the public, and mediation as a way to relieve courts of unnecessary expensive and lengthy court proceedings.