With the support of the "Justice for All" project, funded by the American Agency for International Development (USAID), the Judicial Academy and the Forum of Judges of Serbia organized during December training on the topic "Improving citizens' access to justice, improving communication and legal culture".

The trainings were held in the headquarters of appeals, and the lecturers were:

• Zorica Đaković, judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade,
• Vesna Filipović, judge of the Court of Appeal in Belgrade,
• Ana Lukić Vidojković, judge of the Appellate Court in Niš,
• Tanja Pavlović Nedeljković, judge of the Court of Appeal in Kragujevac,
• Dragana Ćuk Milankov, a psychologist in a non-governmental organization in Athens,
• Ivanka Jovanović, president of the National Association of Persons with Disabilities.

The aim of the training was to familiarize the participants with the basic communication elements in order to strengthen the capacity for effective conflict resolution and management of the communication cycle for faster and more efficient management of court proceedings, as well as sensitizing the participants for communication with sensitive groups.

The topics covered at the trainings were:

• Presentation of the basics of communication in the courtroom;
• Improving access to justice for persons with disabilities;
• Preparation for the first hearing or the main hearing;
• Management of the preliminary hearing;
• Hearing of witnesses and parties in civil proceedings.

The target group of training participants were judges and judicial associates of civil departments of basic courts.

In the next calendar year, training is planned for judges and judicial associates of criminal departments, as well as for users of the initial training of the Judicial Academy.