Upon the invitation of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, the Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms Mr Halil Duković, MD, will participate at the International Seminar on the topic “Relationship between the institutions of Ombudsman and interested parties” which will be held on 10 and 11 September 2013 in Regional School of Public Administration in Danilovgrad.

The Seminar is organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Enlargement, TAIEX in cooperation with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) and the Regional Cooperation Council.

The following are to participate at the Seminar: Mr Mose Apelblat, representative of European Commission Directorate General for Enlargement; Mr Šućko Baković, Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro; Mr Halil Duković, MD, Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms of the Parliament of Montenegro; Ms Adriana Stehouwer, Deputy National Ombudsman of Netherlands; Mr Basri Berisha, Deputy Ombudsman of Kosovo; Ms Gundi Gadesmann, Media and External Relations Officer of the European Ombudsman; Mr Igli Totozani, Ombudsman of Albania; Mr Gjergj Murray, Expert in Parliamentary Cooperation of the Regional Cooperation Council; experts of the Central European Initiative for Cooperation with the European Movement: Ms Gledis Gjipali, European Movement Albania; Mr Ivan Knežević, European Movement  Serbia; Mr Nikola Todorovski, European Movement  the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Mr Momčilo Radulović, European Movement  Montenegro; professor Michael Götze of the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen; Ms Jasminka Dzumhur, Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Mr Budimir Šćepanović, Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro; Ms Berglind Bára Sigurjónsdóttir, Head of Ombudsman Office of Iceland; Mr İlhan Ceylan, expert, Contact Person for Republic of Turkey Ombudsman Institution; Ms Lora Vidović, Ombudsman of Croatia; Ms Adriana Stehouwer, Deputy Ombudsman of Netherlands; Ms Gundi Gadesmann; European Ombudsman; and Mr Michael Götze, professor at the University of Copenhagen.

According to the Agenda, the Chairperson of Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms is to open the seminar and speak on cooperation between the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms and the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro, considering that relations of the institution of Ombudsman and the Parliament are one of the topics, and that the Parliament of Montenegro and the Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms are recognised as the most significant “interested party” which is developing cooperation with the institution of Ombudsman.

General purpose of the Seminar is to promote cooperation between institutions of ombudsman in the countries which are part of the enlargement process, and the special goals are as follows:

- providing timely information to the partner countries on the innovative and alternative methods for resolving disputes, such as mediation as a form of resolving disputes between the key interested parties – petitioners and state authorities in question;

- sharing experiences of participating institutions regarding good practice in relations with other key interested parties, such as the parliament and the civil society;

-stimulating partner countries to enhance the role of institutions of ombudsman as the initiator of responsibility and transparency;

- researching the need for and feasibility of establishing a regional network of ombudsman institutions;

- promoting projects and future cooperation between ombudsman institutions.

Apart from relations between ombudsman institutions and the parliament, the topics on the Seminar will include relations with the petitioners, civil society and media, as well as regional cooperation, lessons learned, and challenges that the ombudsman institutions will be facing in the following period.