On 30 and 31 January, a meeting of the Working Group for the Security of Judicial Institutions and Judicial Office Holders of the HJPC of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Mostar on the development of the Justice Security Strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along with the President of HJPC, the meeting was attended by representatives of the competent Ministries of Justice of BiH, including the president of the Judicial Commission of the Brčko District of BiH, heads of judicial institutions from the wider area of Mostar and Trebinje, presidents of the Supreme Courts of the FBiH and Republika Srpska, and members of the Working Group that includes directors and heads of Court Police in BiH, judges, prosecutors, and representatives of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies in BiH. This activity was supported by the EU4Justice Project.
“Judicial institutions and judicial office holders at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina are often targets of verbal attacks and other forms of pressure aimed at preventing or hindering the conduct of procedures undertaken by judges and prosecutors within their jurisdiction. Therefore, the Working Group for the Security of Judicial Institutions and Judicial Office Holders in BiH took the responsibility and initiated the implementation of numerous activities in the past period with the aim of raising the state of security in the judiciary of BiH to a higher level. The development of the upcoming Strategy will ensure the identification of all present problems in this sector and their causes, as well as long-term planning of their solution by involving many stakeholders, which will make this process inclusive, comprehensive, and systemic,” emphasized Biljana Simeunović, chairperson of the Working Group, member of the HJCP BiH.
For the new Strategy to anticipate relevant European standards and good practices in the judicial security sector, and having in mind the importance of this issue, the Working Group will be guided by the EU4Justice Project team, which plans to engage relevant international experts in the next stages of the creation of this document. So far, assistance to the Working Group in the preparation of the Strategy was provided by prof. Dr. Eldan Mujanović and Prof. Dr. Nevenko Vranješ, both participating in the EU4Justice Project as local experts.
“Creating an appropriate and secure environment for the work of judicial institutions and judicial office holders represents both an important upcoming activity and one of the key priorities in the upcoming Reform Program of the HJPC BiH. EU4Justice Project team shares the same mission, and the support we provide in the development of the Strategy is only one of the activities that contribute to reinforcing the independence, quality, effectiveness, responsibility, and efficiency of the justice sector in BiH”, emphasized Drino Galičić, Deputy Team Leader of the EU4Justice team.
Besides Mostar, meetings of the Working Group will also be held in Banja Luka and in Sarajevo in the upcoming period. Each meeting will be adapted to the participants and to the level of progress achieved in the preparation of the strategic document.
These meetings are organized as part of the EU4Justice Project – Phase II, “Support to Judicial Professionalism and the Fight against Organized Crime and Corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” which is implemented through the financial support of the European Union with the aim of harmonizing the judicial system of BiH with European standards through strengthening the independence, effectiveness, responsibility, and efficiency of the judicial sector in BiH.
