The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina commemorated the 20th anniversary of Criminal Justice Reform with an international conference titled “Two Decades Back, Two Decades Forward.” The event, held on November 15 and 16, 2023, in Sarajevo, convened over 100 domestic and international legal practitioners, academics, civil society members, and other experts. The purpose of the conference was to reflect on the 2003 criminal justice system reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to assess the progress made over the past two decades, while also recognizing ongoing challenges.
Ambassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, emphasized: “Twenty years ago, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina aspired to embody essential principles such as fairness, accountability, equality, and the rule of law. Unfortunately, progress has faced hurdles and impediments, and the development and implementation of much-needed reforms have been uneven at best.”
Since the adoption of new criminal legislation and the establishment of State-level judicial institutions in 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovina has navigated a multifaceted legal system, addressing complex criminal matters such as war crimes, organized crime, economic crimes, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, and corruption.
Addressing challenges in processing cases of organized crime and corruption, Halil Lagumdžija, President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “It is undeniable that a strong and independent judiciary is a key link in the fight against these forms of crime. We must bear in mind that corruption is, unfortunately, a pronounced model of behavior in society and that it is influenced by social, political, legal, institutional, and economic causes, against which the judiciary often cannot fight alone. That is why I always insist that the fight against corruption can only be effective as a systematic and clearly defined fight of the entire justice system, while society as a whole must be strategically determined in suppressing forms of corruption.”
Denis Džidić, Executive Director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in BiH (BIRN BiH), stressed the significance of discussing the integrity and transparency of judicial functions on the 20th anniversary of the judicial reform. He expressed concern about increasing pressures on judges and prosecutors from politicians, emphasizing that “the success or failure of state judicial institutions to resist these pressures will directly impact Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path toward the European Union because the rule of law is crucial on that path.”
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