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- Be sure that where evidence of crimes from the war period reflects violations of international humanitarian law, charges also reflect this.
- Increase efforts to cite relevant international precedent, especially verdicts of the ICTY.
- Make use of all available sources of evidence, including that provided by NGOs and victims’ groups and that which could be obtained from state prosecutors and the ICTY. Take advantage of the services of the ICTY liaison offices to obtain evidence from the ICTY.
- Where needed to secure suspects’ attendance, request that suspects be arrested and detained in accordance with the law in order to prevent flight.
- Where needed, make requests for measures to protect the identities of vulnerable witnesses. Where needed, make use of the facilities of the State Court to do this.
- Undertake greater and more systematic cooperation with state authorities in order to facilitate a clear national understanding of the number and status of open cases dealing with crimes committed during the war.
- Increase participation in outreach events and improve communication and cooperation with NGOs, victims’ groups, and the general public.
- Encourage spokespersons to expand their role in outreach events and to be proactive in providing information on cases to the public.
To the judiciaries of Republika Srpska and the Federation
- Courts should create a dedicated staff position to field requests for information on cases and to publicize the work of the courts. Take steps to make public information, such as verdicts, more freely available to the public.
- Courts must take steps to use existing court facilities in ways that protect the identities of witnesses where needed.
- Judges should follow international precedent, such as cases decided by the ICTY
- Instruct officers in the importance of cooperation with cantonal and district prosecutors investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide cases against persons of all ethnicities.
- Increase training on the investigation of cases dealing with crimes under international law.
- Cooperate fully with police across entity lines investigating cases dealing with crimes committed during the war.
- Work with the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council to increase the numbers of prosecutors and judges, to provide adequate support staff, and to allow prosecutors in war crimes departments to work exclusively on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
- Work with the state government to find a way to harmonize the law applied in cases dealing with crimes committed during the war in different areas of the country.
- Make the necessary legal amendments to create specialized war crimes investigator positions within prosecutors’ offices.
- Require entity Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centres to provide additional training for judges and prosecutors on international law and the investigation of cases involving crimes under international law.
- Create, fund, and staff a centralized authority with the responsibility for coordinating and promoting outreach by prosecutors, police, and court personnel.
- Allocate more resources and positions within police forces to the investigation of cases involving crimes committed during the war and provide these specialists with extensive training in investigations of these crimes and in working with witnesses.
- Provide adequate resources and staffing to social welfare centers to provide support to witnesses.
- Take steps to create the facilities within cantonal and district courts necessary to protect the identities of witnesses.
- Take steps to facilitate prompt allocation of resources necessary for the payment of reserve judges and attorneys representing indigent clients.
- Provide easier access to government archives and records by prosecutors.
- Increase the numbers of cantonal and district prosecutors working on crimes committed during the war and allow prosecutors working on these cases to work in units that specialize exclusively in this practice area.
- Increase staffing of support personnel, including trainees and associates, within cantonal and district prosecutors’ offices.
- Continue efforts to regularize communication with cantonal and district prosecutors, especially regarding the status of existing case files and investigations.
- Facilitate increased sharing of evidence with cantonal and district prosecutors.
- Complete work on a database to centralize existing case files on crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and clarify the total number of existing files.
- Instruct SIPA to cooperate with investigations by entity authorities into war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to the extent possible without compromising state investigations.
- Facilitate the use of state witness protection facilities by cantonal and district courts and prosecutors.
- Facilitate the use of the ICTY Judicial Database and Evidence Disclosure Suite by cantonal and district prosecutors.
- Expand trainings to include defense attorneys working on trials for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide before cantonal and district courts and take further steps to publicize the availability of such trainings.
- Make memos on general points of international law available to attorneys practicing at the cantonal and district level.
- Take steps to facilitate access by defense attorneys before cantonal and district courts to the Judicial Database and Evidence Disclosure Suite of the ICTY.
- Eliminate restrictions on extradition of nationals and transfer of cases (where the death penalty is not permitted for the crime at issue).
- Commit additional resources to cantonal and district courts specifically for the creation of adequate witness protection programs and facilities.
- Work to harmonize the conflicting legal codes applied in the State Court, cantonal and district courts, and the Brčko District.
- Create a body with the authority to centralize evidence of crimes committed during the war and coordinate its use.
- Expand staffing and resources to the State Investigation and Protection Agency to allow further cooperation with investigation for trials of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide before cantonal and district courts where police are otherwise unwilling or unable to assist.
- Provide staffing and resources to Criminal Defense Support Section to allow greater use of their services by defense attorneys practicing before cantonal and district courts.
- Reach an agreement with the government of Bosnia to remove legal impediments to extradition and case transfer.
- Urge the governments of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, and Montenegro to remove legal obstacles to the transfer of cases and to the extradition of suspects in cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
- Agree to host witnesses and their families who require international relocation for their protection.
- Coordinate donor initiatives aimed at aiding the Bosnian judiciary with the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina to allow greater focus of donor resources on priority areas.
- Ensure that initiatives aimed at reform of the Bosnian judiciary, especially requirements for European Union membership, prioritize the needs of cantonal and district justice systems addressing crimes from the war.
- Ensure that police reform in Bosnia takes account of the needs of cantonal and district prosecutors and creates conditions for effective and politically neutral investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
July 2008
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