MEETING OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BIH AND THE STANDING PANEL FOR WAR CRIMES CASES OF THE COURT OF BIH

Central topics for discussion at the meeting were activities and recommendations for more efficient war crimes prosecution.

Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, Gordana Tadić, her associates and officials of the Special Department for War Crimes, held a meeting with the representatives of the Standing Panel for War Crimes Cases of the Court of BiH.

The meeting is a part of regular activities in accordance with the National War Crimes Strategy at which the topics for discussion are practical issues that are relevant to the effectiveness of war crimes prosecution and overcoming the difficulties that arise in practice.

Also discussed were the recommendations given following the meeting with the IRMCT Chief Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, concerning the issue of expediting war crimes prosecution and maintaining high judicial standards in prosecution of cases.

Another topic for discussion at the meeting was the transfer of war crimes cases to judicial institutions in neighboring countries for prosecution, in situations where the indictments are confirmed and the accused are inaccessible to the BiH judiciary; in particular, to indictments issued in Category II cases, cases that have originally been transferred from the ICTY, and are coordinated and monitored by the ICTY/IRMCT Office of the Prosecutor. This issue is extremely important, due to the existence of dozens of cases in which indictments have been issued but the accused are located in neighboring countries. It is extremely important to resolve this issue in order to fight the impunity for war crimes in the region.

The meetings of the officials of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the Standing Panel for War Crimes Cases are held continuously, with the aim of accelerating the work on war crimes cases and improving the efficiency of judicial institutions in this area