OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports hate crime workshop for judiciary

On 29 May 2018 in Podgorica the OSCE Mission to Montenegro organized the first in a series of training courses on hate crime for around 30 judges and prosecutors from across Montenegro. The event was organized in co-operation with the the Centre for Training in Judiciary and State Prosecution.

The training introduced the participants to the definition of and international legal provisions relating to hate crime. The participants examined the practices and precedents of the European Court of Human Rights and the work of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in comparison with their experiences in prosecuting hate crime in Montenegro.

“Thanks to support of the OSCE Mission, important knowledge was gained by our prosecutors on the methodology of prosecuting hate crime and by our judges on assessing and weighing evidence in adjudicating hate crime,” said Masa Adzic, Head of the Department for In-service Training from the Centre for Training in Judiciary and State Prosecution. Adzic underlined the effectivity of the OSCE Mission’s support to prosecutors in reviewing evidence and prosecuting hate crimes. She welcomed the next series of training courses scheduled for the second half of the year.

The Mission’s Security Co-operation and Governance Programme Manager, Robert Kucharski, emphasized that this training course responds to operational needs identified by justice practitioners. He also noted that it serves to enhance their capacity to prosecute hate crimes in Montenegro and protect basic human rights.

The event is part of the Mission’s cross-programmatic project to raise public awareness and support the improvement of the ability of law enforcement and judicial institutions to properly respond to the phenomena of hate crime.