OSCE weekly mission report re new criminal legislation (7 - 13 July, 2003)

BiH Federation (FBiH) Parliament Adopts New Criminal Legislation

On 9 July, the FBiH Parliament adopted the FBiH Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code.  The adoption of these two laws, which are harmonized withBiH and Republika Srpska (RS) criminal legislation, brings the country closer to a common BiH criminal policy aimed at protecting society against corruption and crime.  The reform of BiH criminal legislation represents a critical element of the High Representative’s “Jobs and Justice” agenda, adopted at the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board meeting on 23 September 2002.  

The newly adopted laws create a new relationship between prosecutors and defendants and allow for more efficient investigations.  Along with the criminal codes, the FBiH House of Peoples accepted two conclusions: 1) FBiH Parliament should instruct the team monitoring the enforcement of criminal justice about the necessity of reassessing the authority of prosecutors in giving immunity to witnesses; and 2) FBiH Government must involve parliamentarians in the preparation of legal reforms, in order to ensure that long and unnecessary procedures are avoided.  Implementation of these laws in FBiH will begin on the 1^st of August, whilst in the RS, the Codes entered into force on 1 July.

BiH Courts Express Concern Regarding the Implementation of New Criminal Procedure Codes

The Mission held a number of meetings with judges and prosecutors in Široki Brijeg (FBiH) and Trebinje (RS) this week in order to discuss court readiness to implement the new Entity Criminal Procedure Codes and Criminal Codes.  The new codes are set to come into force on 1 August in the Federation.  In the RS, they entered into force on 1 July.  Judges and prosecutors said that the judiciary and prosecutors are currently ill-equipped to deal with the substantial changes being brought about by the introduction of the new Codes, and opined that have received insufficient training.

The Mission has already noted problems with the technical capacity of the courts to implement the new changes (Mission Weekly Report No 27/2003).  In the light of the need to remedy these problems, the Mission will raise them at the next meeting of the Rule of Law Task Force and of the Criminal Codes Implementation Assessment Team (CCIAT).  The CCIAT, established by the State Ministry of Justice and composed of local and international actors including OSCE, is intended to act as the chief co-ordination body for assessing the implementation process and for formulating policy and recommendations on legal amendments and implementation practices.