Anonymization or censorship of court decisions? Problems with the Rulebook of the Court of BiH Cover Image

Anonimizacija ili cenzura sudskih odluka? Problemi s Pravilnikom Suda BiH
Anonymization or censorship of court decisions? Problems with the Rulebook of the Court of BiH

Author(s): Sevima Sali-Terzić
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Public Law, Corruption - Transparency - Anti-Corruption
Published by: Fondacija Centar za javno pravo
Keywords: Public law; constitution; Constitutional Court; BiH; court; verdict; anonymisation; censure; access to information; transparency; freedom of expression; protection of personal data; human rights;
Summary/Abstract: The enactment of the “Regulation on Access to information under the control of the Court of BiH and Cooperation With the Community” raised serious concerns in both media and legal community who consider that the Regulation introduces a sort of censorship in access to information, in particular in relation to criminal proceedings on war crimes, organized crime and corruption cases and neglects the high public interest to be duly and timely informed on these cases. The analysis shows that the Regulation does not annul the public character of the trial and the pronouncement of the judgment. However, it lacks sufficient clarity in order to avoid misinterpretation of the rules on anonymization of audio-visual and other „informative material“ that Court of BiH provides to media and general public in relation to the ongoing cases and in order to preserve the right of public to be informed as well as the right of a private person to have his/her personal data protected in an appropriate manner. In this regard, the Regulation should be revised in a way to put more emphasis on the need of „public interest test“ in relation to all information related to the ongoing trials on war crimes, organized crime and corruption cases, that are of particular importance to the general public in BiH. Also, the rules on anonymization of judgments should be revised in order to be harmonized with the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination that provides for publicity of the written judgment always when the Court establishes discrimination, but also in order to regulate exemptions from the anonymization of judgments in war crime, organized crime and corruption cases.

  • Page Count: 15
  • Publication Year: 2012
  • Language: Bosnian