The head of the Permanent Representation of Serbia to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Milos Aligrudic, held a news conference at the National Assembly on 13 October 2006, together with a group of students of Belgrade University’s Law School, to acquaint the press with the Draft Convention on the Protection of Old Crafts.

Aligrudic underlined that this was the first instance of law students initiating the adoption of an international treaty at an international organisation, and, at the same time, Serbia’s first initiative in the Council of Europe. The group of 40 Law School students had prepared the Draft Convention, which was approved unanimously by the Culture Sub-Committee, and is to be presented at a sitting of the Committee of Ministers in San Marino on 17 November.

A representative of the students spoke about the drafting of the document and the importance of protecting old crafts, a part of European countries’ cultural heritage. The entrance of the Draft Convention into procedure at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly was supported, in addition to Serbia’s Permanent Representation, by six national delegations; its adoption is expected at the first next sitting of the Parliamentary Assembly.