Programme

I. Strengthening public relations at courts: new communication tools and trends

• Merethe Eckhardt (DK), Director of Development, Danish Court Administration
• Gerard Tangenberg (NL), Senior Vice-president, Rechtbank Nord-Nederland
• William Valasidis, Director of Communications, Court of Justice of the EU

II. Protection of the court system against attacks of media and press

• Sonja R. West (USA), Professor, University of Georgia School of Law
• dr. Balázs Rozsnyai, judge at Hajdúböszörmény District Court

III. Potentials and means of crisis communication at courts

• Kornél Bőhm, Head of Crisis Communication Department, Hungarian Public Relations Association

Workshops

Workshop 1 - Enhancing the PR of the courts, means and trends of communication

Attachments:

• Workshop 1 - Enhancing the PR of the courts, means and trends of communication

Workshop 2 - Conclusions of workshops on tackling attacks of press and media

Attachments:

• Workshop 2 - Conclusions of workshops on tackling attacks of press and media

Workshop 3 - Crisis communication

Attachments:

•  Workshop 3 - Crisis communication

Quastionnaire and answers

Questionnaire

Enhancing the PR of the courts, means and trends of communication

1. Have the communication channels used by your courts changed in the last two years? If so, which communication means and channels have been recently introduced?
2. Provided that the courts do not use social media yet, can it be, in your opinion, useful in the future at all, and for the broadcasting of what kind of contents?
3. Provided that the communication channels and means have been changed, what were these changes motivated by, and which experiences (benefits and detriments) can be recorded since the introduction of the changes?
4. Which online platforms are primarily used by your courts? Is each space used for the communication of different contents? Where and how are the decisions, the news about the courts, the information and the social events etc. communicated?
5. Do you have internal regulations, recommendations on the use of social media for the judges? Is it permitted or forbidden for the judges and the judicial staff to use social media, or are they entitled to do with specific limitations?
6. Provided that the judges are allowed to use social media, has it ever occurred that a judge suffered an attack in terms of his or her work?
7. Are the social events organised by the court targeted to any specific group of people in order to bring the courts closer to the publicity, to make people familiar with the operation of the courts? What are these events, and which age group is targeted? Provided that there are no such events, what is the reason for this?
8. Do the courts cooperate with the partner authorities and the NGOs in the organisation of social events? If so, what is the framework of the cooperation, and which are the concerned social events? If not, is it planned for the future?
9. What is the framework of the cooperation between your court and the media? Have you established cooperation agreements? If so, what is the main content of these agreements?
10. If there is no cooperation agreement with the media, can it be, in your opinion, useful in the future in your country, and with which content?

Protection of the courts against the attacks of press and media – Press rectification and other legal means of defence regarding media attacks against the judicial system and judges

1. What level of legal measures regulates press rectification in your country?
2. What are the main rules of press rectification?
3. In case the legal dispute terminates in a litigious court proceeding after the rectification, what rules are exemplary for the litigious process?
4. How can press rectification be requested from the press organization?
5. What is the practice of lawsuits for press rectification, what legal consequences can the court apply and what are the most common legal aftermaths?
6. What options do courts have in case of attacks (videos appearing in media or published on YouTube, comments on social media websites, etc.) against judges and courts?
7. Has your country ever had a case in which courts were attacked, and which resulted in a press rectification lawsuit?
8. If press rectification has a practice in case of attacks on courts, does the court communicate the verdict, and if yes, what communication channel does it use?
9. In case false coverage appears about the court, or the content of the statement is changed by the press retroactively, are steps taken, and if yes, what measures are used in the course of correction?
10. How can the courts and judges, in case of attacks, enforce their rights, and is there unitary action on an organizational level?

Possibilities and tools of crisis-communication at the court

1. Have you experienced any communication crisis in connection with the operation of your court in the previous year? If you have, what kind of crisis was it and how would you describe the handling of the crisis? (public reception of issues of public interest, perception of the repeal of protracted cases, demonstration in front of the courts, etc.)
2. What are the factors that influence and determine the crises and their prevention?
3. What are the most important crises affecting the functioning of the courts?
4. How do you react on crisis situations, which are the key elements of crisis management?
5. Do you think your courts are prepared for crisis situations, do you or are you planning to have a crisis-communication strategy at your court?
6. What may be the most important messages of crisis-communication throughout the crisis management at the court?
7. What declaration order shall apply for crisis-communication? Do you apply internal communication channels, and if so, how?
8. What is your opinion, how could crisis management be more effective at your court?
9. What external channels and other surfaces do you use primarily for crisis-communication? Do you use social media surfaces in case of crisis?
10. Are the events documented during and after the crisis? Is there any communication after the crisis from the court's side? What kind of follow-up would you find useful and effective?
11. How would you develop crisis-communication and make it more effective at the courts?

Attachments:

• Answers to the questionnaire part 1
• Answers to the questionnaire part 2
• Answers to the questionnaire part 3