2 February 2026 - The President of the Constitutional Court, Prof. Frane Staničić, together with Judge Ass. Prof. Maša Marochini Zrinski, attended the solemn hearing of the European Court of Human Rights marking the opening of its judicial year. Mattias Guyomar, President of the Court, and Prof. Dr. Stephan Harbarth, President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, addressed senior representatives of the Council of Europe, Presidents of the highest courts of the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, as well as former judges of the Court, ambassadors, dignitaries of the host State, and other high-level invitees. A judicial seminar on defending media pluralism and the democratic process in challenging times was also organised as a part of the festivities, during which the participants discussed four topics: “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.”