Mr. Mirsad Ćeman, President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ms. Ermina Dumanjić, Head of the Constitutional Case-Law Section, attended the ceremony of opening of the judicial year of the European Court of Human Rights (“the ECtHR”) in Strasbourg on 30 January 2026.
As part of this ceremony, a solemn hearing took place before a prominent gathering of representatives of the highest courts of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, former judges of the ECtHR, ambassadors, dignitaries of the host state (France) and other high-level guests from the judicial and diplomatic chorus. Mr. Mattias Guyomar, President of the ECtHR, and Prof. Dr. Stephan Harbarth, President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, delivered their speeches at the solemn hearing, emphasising the key role of the courts in preserving democratic values, rule of law and protecting human rights in contemporary European societies faced with numerous challenges.
A seminar on the theme Defending media pluralism and the democratic process in challenging times was held as part of the ceremony of opening of the judicial year. Participants discussed four topics at the seminar: “Media pluralism and the right to information”, “Freedom of information and the competences of the European Union: the case of restrictive measures”, “The integrity of the democratic process and judicial control” and “The free expression of the people’s will as a prerequisite for the protection of a democratic state order”.
The presence of a delegation of the Constitutional Court at this important event reaffirms commitment to strengthening the dialogue among the courts, protection of human rights and promotion of the rule of law and democratic values.
