More Efficient Implementation of the National War Crimes Processing Strategy Requested



24th meeting of the Supervisory body for monitoring the implementation of measures contained in the National War Crimes Processing Strategy was held today. Institutions responsible for implementation of the Strategy were ordered to approach, as efficient as possible, to the implementation of program activities, in compliance with the deadlines. After the meeting, an appeal was sent to all relevant bodies of authority to strengthen efforts on the harmonization of court practice for war crimes processing, as well as to guarantee consistent and harmonized court practice in full compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. 

It is estimated that the greatest delay in war crimes processing is in the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and certain Cantonal and District Prosecutors’ Offices. In that regard, the mentioned institutions have been asked to process war crime cases in a more efficient way, especially the most complex and high priority cases.

It was concluded that the process of referring war crimes cases among BiH judicial institutions, entity judiciary and Brcko District of BiH is not performed in an effective, expedite and transparent way, and therefore a meeting was scheduled in order to assess the achieved results and propose measures for the improvement in the implementation of planned strategic activities.

It was also emphasized that it is necessary to strengthen capacities of the Federal Police Administration of the Federation of BiH and Cantonal Ministries of Home Affairs, especially in terms of filling the vacant systematized positions of war crimes investigators and extension of systematization in certain police agencies.

Beside members of the Supervisory body and the Acting Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, Mrs Jadranka Lokmić-Misirača, meeting was also attended by the Head of Special Department for War Crimes, Mrs. Vesna Budimir, and all prosecutors from that department.