Justice Report has learnt from a reliable source that, following a two-day meeting, the Working Group, led by the State Prosecution, is about to agree on the Draft Strategy for Processing of War Crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition, Justice Report has found out that judge Minka Kreho, who sits on trial chambers of the War Crimes Section, has replaced Meddzida Kreso, the State Court President, who resigned from her function as member of this Group.
It was planned to complete the Draft Strategy by November 21. Prior to its finalisation, the Draft text shall be sent to members of the Peace Implementation Council, PIC, for their review. After that it will be forwarded to the Council of Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then to the Parliamentary Assembly.
The meeting, at which the Draft Strategy was agreed upon, lasted until late afternoon on November 19. Although the meeting has still not been finished, Justice Report has been informed that the Working Group has reached consensus concerning some agenda items.
Among other things, it was agreed to include in the Draft Strategy a provision stating that, in the future the State Court would assess whether some war crime cases would be transferred to local courts for further processing. There were many disagreements concerning this issue in the past.
“So far we have not agreed upon the criteria for assessing sensitivity of cases. These criteria are to be determined by the State Court and its Prosecution. Once this has been done, the criteria shall be included in the Strategy in a form of an annex,” says a source close to judicial institutions.
Besides this, it has been agreed for all cases, which the State Court will refer to local courts for further processing, will be processed according to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which came into force in 2003.
Up to now, lower instance courts have applied the provisions of the Criminal Code of the former Yugoslavia in war crime cases. This Code does not contain any provisions related to crime against humanity, while the most severe punishment is a 15-year imprisonment sentence.
The Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina stipulates that a person may be sentenced to long-term imprisonment, which may last for up to 40 years.
The Draft Strategy, which is being agreed upon at this meeting, determines how many material resources are needed in order to process all outstanding war crime cases.
The Working Group, tasked with the preparation of the War Crimes Processing Strategy, was established as per a decision made by the Council of Ministers in July 2007. The Working Group consists of representatives of the State Prosecution and Court, Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministries of Finance and Treasury, Ministry of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as representatives of the Entity and Brcko District Ministries of Justice and international community.
The Working Group reviewed two different drafts of the Strategy. One of them was prepared by David Schwendiman, Chief of the War Crimes Section with the State Prosecution, while the other one was made by the Court President.
More info about the drafts:
