OSCE Mission supports further witness protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina

SARAJEVO, 4 March 2016 – The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in co-operation with the Center for Judicial and Prosecutorial Training in Federation of BiH, completed today the first of eight seminars to be held this year for judiciary staff on witness protection prior to, during and after trial as well as compensation for damages.

The seminar, which was organized as part of the OSCE’s War Crimes Capacity-Building Project, gathered more than 40 prosecutors and expert associates from all over BiH. This year there is a special focus on compensation claims for damages, a right rarely used by victims.

“We are glad to continue co-operating with the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centers in the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska as they are crucial in educating the relevant judiciary representatives on how to deal with war crimes cases, one of the priority areas for our Mission,” said the Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH Ambassador Jonathan Moore.

Acting Director of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Center in FBiH Radoslav Marjanovic said that the seminar is an opportunity for all judicial actors to exchange their experiences. “These kinds of seminars allow for knowledge transfer not just from the international judicial institutions but also from the State down to the Entity levels as well.”

War crimes cases are often transferred from one level to another. “For the successful processing of these cases it is of crucial importance to for all participating subjects to have a uniform approach and apply the same standards,” said Federal prosecutor Munib Halilovic.

The project is being implemented with the financial support of the Embassies of Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, United Kingdom and the United States.