Donor: Norwegian Refugee Council
Duration of project: December 2003

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights organised a four-day long seminar at Hotel Majestic to introduce the practice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to a select group of project coordinators and legal advisors of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The goal of the seminar was to give participants the practical knowledge to bring relevant cases before the ECHR. Norwegian Refugee Council selected 20 participants (9 from Belgrade, 11 from outside Belgrade). The seminar was comprised of a combination of lectures, case studies, and moot court sessions. Program lecturers included experts from nongovernmental and governmental institutions, foreign experts, and lecturers from the Belgrade Centre.

Donor: Fund for an Open Society, Belgrade Office
Duration of project: September 2003

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights and the Victimology Society of Serbia, with the support of the Fund for an Open Society, organised a training program for trial monitoring for organised crimes and war crimes. The goal was to equip local lawyers, nongovernmental organisation (NGO) activists, and their associates with the technical skills and methodology necessary to monitor and report on trials, particularly future trials of organised crimes. The program was also conceived to enable this group to understand and be effective in other court procedures related to human rights. (more…)

Donor: Freedom House and Norwegian People’s Aid
Duration of project: January – December 2003

The “U  pravu si!” booklet was created in 2002 by the Youth Group of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights. The booklet is a practical guide of the Serbian legal system as it relates to the rights and duties of young citizens. It is based on the already existing Citizenship Foundation’s guidebook, “Young Citizen’s Passport,”  but adapted to Serbia specifically. (more…)

Donor: Catholic Relief Services
Duration of project: July 2003 – March 2004

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights organised five seminars and workshops (two in Belgrade, one each in Smederevo, Novi Sad, and Kraljevo) for 50 participants each with the goal of building popular support for the ongoing reform of the educational system. Participants were teachers of Civic Education and Constitution and the Rights of Citizens courses. Student participants were in their final year of secondary school (both general and specific professional). Separate programs were organised for teachers and students with joint lectures during the program. (more…)

Donor: Open Society Fund, Belgrade Office
Duration of project: June 2003 – February 2004

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, with support from the Belgrade Office of the Association of Judges in Serbia  and the department branch offices of the Association of Judges in 10 Serbian cities, organised lectures by human rights experts and judges for elementary and secondary students and local municipality officials and civil servants to learn more about the human rights, the rule of law, the division of power and other institutions, particularly judicial, which would contribute to the development of legal culture in Serbia. Particular attention was paid to the role of the judiciary in building a democratic society. (more…)

Donor: The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Duration of project: June 2003

The Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, with cooperation from OSCE, organised a training course for Yugoslav lawyers to appear before UN treaty bodies, held over four days at Hotel Metropol in Belgrade. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) adopted international instruments in the framework of the UN human rights protection system, which sets procedures for supervising the fulfillment of members’ human rights obligations. With these changes, individuals, citizens’ groups or nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in Yugoslavia are able to file communications with UN Committees (treaty bodies) directly or through their legal representatives. However, lawyers in Serbia are still unable to provide adequate legal aid to all interested parties due to a lack of human rights law education and practice. (more…)