Conference on “Securing International Protection by Judges”



First regional conference of judges “Securing international protection by judges“, regarding the asylum and refugee law, was held on October 5-7, 2011, in Sarajevo. Conference resulted in establishing a model of improving court practice and procedure in cases of asylum and refugee law, through the establishment of regional cooperation among members of the judiciary.

At the Conference were discussed information on current situation and procedure in the area of asylum, practice of the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights, as well as the interface of refugee law with the European Human Rights Law. It was emphasized that in 2010, compared with 2009, the number of asylum seekers in the Western Balkan countries has doubled, and since the introduction of the visa-free regime, it becomes more evident among the citizens of BiH.

The Conference also considered the possibility of strengthening networks among judges dealing with the asylum issues by joining the International Association of Refugee Law Judges.

Judges and representatives of judicial and other competent institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, representatives of the EU Delegation to BiH and prominent international and civil society organizations attended the Conference.

The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Justice of BiH and UNHCR and financed by the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) of the European Commission.