The central topic of discussion was the need to ensure continuity in the domestic prosecution of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the strong cooperation between the BiH Prosecutor’s Office and MICT Office of the Prosecutor.

The Prosecutors agreed that the closure of the ICTY is not the end of war crimes justice in BiH, but the beginning of the next chapter. Prosecutor offices in the region, including the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, must now continue the ICTY’s work by bringing more perpetrators to justice, while the MICT OTP will provide full support and assistance to their efforts. It was agreed that the highest priority for the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH will be processing the remaining complex cases against senior- and mid-level suspects or involving sensitive crimes such as conflict-related sexual violence.

In accordance with the ICTY’s Completion Strategy, since 2003 the ICTY OTP and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH have enjoyed strong cooperation, including the successful referral of cases from the ICTY to BiH, enabling access to the ICTY OTP’s evidence database, the liaison prosecutor program funded by the European Union and close collaboration on concrete cases. The Prosecutors agreed that moving forward, it is imperative that this cooperation continue and be strengthened to enable the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH to achieve the goals established in the National War Crimes Strategy.

Acting Chief Prosecutor Tadić welcomed the MICT OTP’s intention to continue and strengthen its support to domestic war crimes justice in BiH. She underlined her desire for even closer cooperation and collaboration with the MICT OTP, including through expert assistance on concrete cases, training programs to pass along lessons learned in areas such as conflict-related sexual violence and capacity-building to improve the work of her Office. She noted that the MICT OTP’s assistance will not only support the prosecution of war crimes in BiH, but also other complex crimes such as corruption, organized crime and terrorism.

The Prosecutors also discussed ongoing issues such as regional judicial cooperation in war crimes matters. Acting Chief Prosecutor Tadić expressed her appreciation for the ICTY OTP’s support on these issues, and requested the MICT OTP’s continued engagement in assessing progress, identifying challenges and developing solutions. Chief Prosecutor Brammertz pointed to the strong record of judicial cooperation by the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, noting in particular the mutual transfer of cases and coordinated investigations with the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, and encouraged the Acting Chief Prosecutor to continue pursuing even stronger cooperation with her colleagues in the coming years.

Acting Chief Prosecutor Tadić further briefed Chief Prosecutor Brammertz on the activities of her Office in the last six months. Chief Prosecutor Brammertz commended her for the improvements and reforms she has overseen since assuming the responsibility as Acting Chief Prosecutor, including matters identified in the OSCE report by Judge Joanna Korner. He encouraged her to continue achieving positive progress, and offered the full support of his Office.