Apprentice judges attend OSCE Mission to Serbia course on anti-discrimination and gender equality legislation

The OSCE Mission to Serbia’s Democratization Department, in partnership with Serbia’s Judicial Training Academy, organized the country’s first anti-discrimination and gender equality training course for apprentice judges in Zlatibor, in central Serbia, from 5 to 8 December 2011.

The event focused on national legislation governing anti-discrimination and gender equality, with Supreme Court judges, the Deputy Republican Public Prosecutor, Serbia’s Commissioner for the Protection of Equality and representatives of civil society leading the training.

“It is very important that future judges and public prosecutors continue to broaden their knowledge of discrimination as well as the legal framework that has been developed to combat discrimination and promote gender equality. We are pleased that this training course strikes a very good balance between traditional lectures and interactive exercises that will highlight the complexity of discrimination in society,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia’s Democratization Department, Daiana Falloni. “We also see enormous value in having Serbia’s Commissioner for the Protection of Equality and representatives of civil society actively participating in the course.”

“On behalf of the Judicial Academy it is my pleasure to say that training on anti-discrimination legislation is now part of the regular training programme for future judges and prosecutors. We are hoping to continue our successful co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia in the forthcoming period. ” said the Director of the Judicial Training Academy, Nenad Vujic.

Assisting the Judicial Training Academy in developing this training course is part of the OSCE Mission’s efforts to support Serbian authorities in combating discrimination, as well as in establishing sustainable co-operation between the judiciary, the Office of the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality and civil society.