52 Rights Defenders in the Americas, the Inter-American Commission deems it is necessary for States to adopt the following as additional guarantees against external pressure on the work of justice operators (item c above): 121. As measures of institutional assistance, the IACHR recommends providing prosecutors and judges with specific training in the handling of highly controversial situations in which they may be pressured in their work. Instead of being limited to theoretical considerations, this training should cover practical issues in the real-life situations within which those officials operate. Forums for consultations, exchanges and support for the officials who deal with cases with this kind of high societal impact should also be designed and implemented. 122. In addition, judicial institutions must design and implement policies, strategies, and methodologies for communicating with the public and the media, so that public institutions can develop their own lines of communication to provide the citizenry with transparent, accessible, and understandable information. The establishment of spokespersons and press officers would ensure the professionalization of this function and, in addition, help free justice operators from tasks not related to their duties. These institutional changes can create the conditions for better and more efficient relations between the media and judicial authorities, and they can help eradicate certain inappropriate practices. 123. The IACHR notes that the Council of Europe recommendations regarding the provision of information to the press in connection with criminal proceedings offers a valuable set of guidelines that could be used as a framework to establish communications policies in the OAS member States. Those rules are designed to ensure a balance between respecting and upholding the rights of freedom of expression, due process, respect for privacy and family life, and ensuring the right of rectification and response, which are also enshrined in the Inter-American system’s 173 instruments. Those guidelines are also based on the premise that the provision of information on judicial proceedings – and, particularly, on criminal cases – is covered by the right of the citizenry to be informed about matters of public concern, including justice, and that restrictions on the press in this area must be in accordance with a limited interpretation of those restrictions of the right of free expression and information contained in the European Convention on Human Rights itself (Art. 10). On that basis, these recommendations offer a series of principles that on substance are also 174 applicable to the regional context of the Americas. 173 Council of Europe / Committee of Ministers, Recommendation Rec(2003)13 on the provision of information through the media in relation to criminal proceedings, adopted July 10, 2003. 174 Rec(2003)13. Council of Europe / Committee of Ministers, Explanatory Memorandum to Recommendation