RETROAKTIVNA PRIMJENA KAZNENOG ZAKONA BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE U PREDMETIMA RATNIH ZLOČINA – ARGUMENTI “ZA” I “PROTIV”?
RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE CASES OF WAR CRIMES – ARGUMENTS “FOR” AND “AGAINST”?

Summary/Abstract: In order to prosecute all the perpetrators of the war crimes committed on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to bring into line provisions of its legislation with the world standards when it comes to the prosecution of those heaviest of crimes, Bosnia and Herzegovina has passed, after restoring the peace in 1995, a number of criminal codes. Due to the characteristic organisation of government, and fragmented competencies in prosecuting these crimes, this politics had not produced expected results. Right until 2003 and the adoption of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, these crimes were prosecuted in accordance with various codes that were in force on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The intention of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2003 was to avoid such fragmentation and bring into line the provisions of the criminal code with the attained level of development of the criminal law in the world. The Code itself did not cause any controversies. However, the later changes done to the Code have. Relying on the general principles of the international law, the legislator in Bosnia and Herzegovina set down that this Code may have a retroactive effect with regard to the events that took place in the period from 1992 to 1995. Moreover, given the number of cases and limited capacities, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, may not be able to prosecute all the cases, and some are to be transferred to the other courts which are still applying “old” laws. With this, the matter of the applicable criminal code in such cases becomes ever more important.

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