BIRN - Justice Report in HRW report on Bosnia
31 July 2008 On July 10, Human Rights Watch published their report on war crimes prosecution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “Still Waiting Bringing Justice for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Cantonal and District Courts.”
BIRN – Justice Report
is quoted several times in the report and praised for its work in covering
war crimes trails in the country.
In its report, HRW details the numerous
practical and political problems impeding these trials on a local level. The
obstacles include that prosecutors’ offices lack sufficient staff and generally
do not specialise in one type of crime. Cooperation between prosecutors and
police and between police across entity lines continues to be problematic.
Witness protection measures are rarely, if ever, employed, and witness support
services are generally not available. Prosecutors often fail to make use of
the available sources of evidence and do not take steps necessary to secure the suspects'
attendance at trial. Defence attorneys generally lack access to training in
relevant areas of law and are often inadequately, or not at all, compensated
for their work. Some cantonal and district courts have yet to try a single case. The report is available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2008/bosnia0708/
Justice Report is a
specialist reporting agency focusing on war crimes trials taking place before
local courts; development of the local legal system; and efforts to come to
terms with the past.
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Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
The opinions expressed in Balkan Insight are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network
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