LJUDSKA PRAVA I PRAVOSUĐE U BOSNI I HERCEGOVINI (2010-2011) - Izvještaj o provedbi preporuka u sektoru pravosuđa u BiH iz Univerzalnog periodičnog pregleda Vijeća za ljudska prava Ujedinjenih nacija
HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUDICIARY IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (2010-2011) - A Report on the Implementation of the Recommendations for Justice Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council

Author(s): Adisa Zahiragić, Arijana Ljuca, Branko Todorović, Elma Demir, Jasmina Omičević, Maja Šoštarić, Milena Savić, Nedim Jahić, Sanela Rondić, Saša Madacki, Srđan Dizdarević
Contributor(s): Tamara Sarajlić-Slavnić (Editor), Merima Agić (Editor), Ilvana Hamalukić (Editor)
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Law and Transitional Justice, Politics and law, Politics and society, Evaluation research, Studies in violence and power, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Present Times (2010 - today), Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: ADI Asocijacija za demokratske inicijative
Keywords: BiH; judiciary; justice; law; human rights; death penalty; independence of judiciary; discrimination; hate speech; transitional justice; minorities; war crimes; witness protection; sexual violence; evaluation; recommendations;
Summary/Abstract: Since its inception in 1948, with the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights regime was based on traditional mechanisms of protection of rights developed by the United Nations (UN), which gave a significant role to the states. Namely, the states are primary actors not only in the international processes of implementation and monitoring of human rights but also in guaranteeing the rights and running the process of self-monitoring and reporting. In the absence of capacities of the UN bodies to directly monitor the human rights situation in all Member States, when member states fail to be sufficiently self-critical NGOs, whose fundamental role is to monitor and report on human rights protection and advocate for better protection thereof by local government institutions and international organizations, play an important role. Efficient protection of human rights requires a strong engagement of civil society at both, national and international levels, as civil society organizations are the only entities that continuously monitor the situation on the ground and work on raising awareness about existing rights and call the decision makers for accountability in case of their violation. Justice Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina defined the role of monitoring and reporting on human rights in domestic and international institutions as their primary form of action. Justice Network, which brings together 52 non-governmental organizations whose primary objective is to support government institutions in strengthening the efficiency, independence and accountability of the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as quality information, education and advocating for the interests of citizens in the justice sector, has identified monitoring and reporting on human rights as an essential mechanism by which it seeks to realize its goals. Development of judicial system in BiH, which effectively protects human rights and promotes the rule of law is not possible without a detailed and continuous evaluation of the system for monitoring of compliance of national legislation with international standards. Taking as a basis the results of monitoring of the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Justice Network will encourage the activities that allow a stronger influence of citizens through civil society organizations in the process of making of new decisions and implementation of existing regulations in the field of justice. In this way, the Justice Network will give its contribution in encouraging an active participation of its members and civil society in the development of an independent, efficient, accountable and lawful actions of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina. To this end, the Justice Network has created working groups tasked to analyze and monitor the work of justice sector institutions. The Working Group responsible for analyzing the public policies in the area of justice sector produced several research papers, which were published within a publication called Access to Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These studies were intended to inform both professional and general public about the problem of access to justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina observed from different angles. They particularly deal with the evaluation of effectiveness of judicial system in BiH, when it comes to exercise of certain rights such as: right to free legal assistance, free access to information in the justice sector, protection of the rights deriving from labor relations; protection of the political rights of national minorities in BiH through the judiciary, protection of witnesses / victims of war crimes; re-socialization of juvenile offenders, and the necessity of harmonization of court practice in order to ensure an equal access to justice for all citizens. To complement this analytical work, a Working Group responsible for development of a “Universal Periodic Review” (UPR) on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina was established, as well as A Justice Network, which conducted a monitoring of justice sector institutions responsible for implementation of the recommendations from UPR, which Bosnia and Herzegovina assumed in the field of justice. Representatives of the Association for Democratic Initiatives, the Center for Information and Legal Aid of Zvornik, the Human Rights Centre of the University of Sarajevo, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in BiH, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Republika Srpska, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, the Association of associates and advisers in the courts and prosecutor offices in BiH, the BiH Association of Judges, the Association of Women Judges of BiH, and the Association “Women to Women” have worked jointly on monitoring the implementation of recommendations of the UN Council for Human Rights in judicial sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result of this work a publication titled Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A report on implementation of the recommendations for justice sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (2010 - 2011) was developed. Recognizing the importance of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a new international instrument for fight for human rights, which the UN Council for Human Rights applies in the process of monitoring human rights in the UN member states, the Justice Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the UPR as a tool in their work already in April 2010. After consultations between the members, the Justice Network joined the UPR process through the development of UPR recommendations for BiH, which were presented by a three-member Delegation of the Justice Network on the 14th session of the UN Council for Human Rights held on 11 June 2010 in Geneva. In addition to the preparation of recommendations and presentation thereof in Geneva, the Justice Network organized and delivered training on this mechanism for representatives of civil society and the justice sector. Also, two roundtables were organized for the same target group, one in Sarajevo and one in Banja Luka, in which conclusions have been defined for effective implementation of UPR recommendations in the BiH judiciary. The Report on Human Rights and Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a continuation of work on the application UPR mechanism, but at the same time, it is also a unique publication of this kind. The aim of publishing of this report is to give an insight into the process of implementation of recommendations issued by the UN Council for Human Rights, or by its member states, which were created in a process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Monitoring of implementation of the UPR recommendations by the members of the Justice Network focuses on the judicial system, and includes only those recommendations that have been identified as crucial for improving the justice sector in BiH. In addition to making a general review of protection of human rights through the judiciary, the authors also identified recommendations for decision makers aimed at encouraging the authorities to apply UPR recommendations in justice sector more efficiently and promptly in order to fulfill the assumed commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the international community and its citizens. We hope that this report will be a useful source of information not only to judiciary but also to NGO sector, and we hope it will initiate and develop the interest of civil society organizations in taking concrete actions in the field of justice. Justice Network will certainly continue its activities aimed at monitoring of human rights protection in the justice sector, and will seek to develop further activities related to reporting to local government institutions and international organizations within the Universal Periodical Review (UPR). We use this opportunity to thank all those who were involved in the preparation of analyses and development of this publication. Special thanks goes to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides technical support to the BiH Justice Network and its members through the Justice Sector Development Project II (JSDP II).

• Details
• Contents