July 9, 2008

Still Waiting

Bringing Justice for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Cantonal and District Courts

I. Introduction
Methodology
II. The Importance of the Trials before Cantonal and District Courts
III. Evolution of the Current Legal Framework
A. The "Rules of the Road"
B. The creation of the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and case review..
1. Difficulties in case review and sensitivity determination
2. Lack of clarity on sensitivity determinations
C. Changes to the legal system and judicial and prosecutorial reforms
D. Uncertain number of existing cases
IV. Staffing and Specialization of Judges and Prosecutors
A. Staffing needs for judges
B. Staffing shortages in prosecutors' offices
V. Investigations
A. Lack of specialized investigators within prosecutors' offices
B. Police cooperation across entity boundaries during investigations
C. Limited police investigative capacity
D. Cooperation between prosecutors and police on investigations
VI. Evidence
A. Difficulties in the use of evidence from the war period
B. Evidence sharing with the State Court
C. Use of ICTY evidence
D. Use of NGO evidence
E. Additional concerns regarding sources of evidence
VII. Witnesses
A. Lack of witness protection services
B. Lack of witness support programs
C. Witness fatigue
D. Building trust between prosecutors and victims
VIII. Obstacles to Getting Defendants into Court
A. Summonses and absence of recourse to custody
B. Regional cooperation and the lack of an extradition framework
IX. Defense
A. Training and resources for defense attorneys
B. Payment of defense attorney costs
X. Law Harmonization/Use of International Precedent
A. Law harmonization
B. Failure to follow international precedent
C. Proper classification of crimes in violation of international law..
D. Importance of a consistent legal approach to cases
XI. Public Awareness/Outreach
XII. Reform Proposals
XIII. Recommendations
To prosecutors in Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH..
To the judiciaries of Republika Srpska and the Federation
To police in Republika Srpska and the Federation
To the governments of Republika Srpska and the Federation
To the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council
To the Special Department for War Crimes of the Office of the Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina  
To the Criminal Defense Support Section
To the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina
To the governments of Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia
To the international community
Acknowledgments