OSCE Mission, European Union in BiH and Sarajevo University hold 3rd Media Law School in Jahorina

Jahorina, 25 September 2023 - From 20 to 25 September, the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Union in BiH and the Law School of the University of Sarajevo held in Jahorina the 3rd Media Law School on "The right to privacy in the digital era".

Media Law School is an accredited (3 ECTS points) non-cyclic program of the University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Law.

The five-day event enabled 17 law students from all public law faculties in BiH to explore the complexities surrounding privacy rights in the modern era of digital communication and information exchange, and the responsibilities of the state under relevant articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

"One of the main goals of the Media Law School is to introduce the students early on in their legal education to the relevance of Media law for the adequate functioning of the media landscape and safeguarding the freedom of expression, as one of the fundamental freedoms every democratic society is based on. In the last years, the emerging technologies had a great impact on how media content is created, offered and preceived and posed a question on how to strike a balance between freedom of expression and privacy rights in the online world. As a consequence, the topic of the 3rd Media Law School was "Right to privacy in the digital age", in order to provide the students with the latest practical and legislative trends in this context.", said Dr. iur. Iza Razija Mešević, Vice-Dean for International cooperation of the Faculty of law.

"Currently, the picture for freedom of expression in Bosnia and Herzegovina is highly concerning, with journalists operating in a hostile environment for media freedom. Media law is a rapidly evolving field, with new technologies constantly changing the information environment and posing significant potential threats to fundamental freedoms. This is why it is important that future legal professionals are aware of the current evolving jurisprudence on media law, and its impact on the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. It is encouraging that 18 students from across BiH elected to take part in this Law School". Said Ferdinand Koenig, Head of Communications/Spokesperson of the EU in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"For us in the OSCE, international human rights standards that have been discussed during this programme form a crucial part of our work in the country." said Rebecca Agule, Acting Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Human Dimension Department. " The Media Law School is envisaged as a combination of theoretical and practical work, and I am happy to see students from across BiH had a chance over the past five days to delve into those topics from distinguished first hand experts from the academia, media community and civil society." she added.

The Media Law School represents the continuation of the OSCE Mission's and EU work in the field of promotion and protection of media freedom.

In addition to lectures, students also worked on hypothetical cases and took part in simulated trials.