EC cancels Structured Dialogue on Justice session, Council of Ministers announces one!

The European Commission has decided to halt the organization of the plenary session of the Structured Dialogue on Justice between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was previously scheduled for July 13 and 14, 2015, in Sarajevo. The European Commission has taken note of the recent discussion on the Structured Dialogue within the Council of Ministers of BiH and among relevant stakeholders. Therefore, urgent engagement with executive authorities across Bosnia and Herzegovina is needed, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Considering the current political context, the European Commission believes that all aspects related to the functioning of the Structured Dialogue should be discussed, with the aim of jointly agreeing on the working methodology, procedures, and other issues concerning the future establishment of the formal Subcommittee on Justice, Internal Affairs, and Security, as well as a clear work plan in the coming months on key reform priorities.

Therefore, a meeting with representatives of the executive authorities has been convened for Monday, July 13, to resolve all these aspects. The representatives of the executive authorities are: the Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Minister of Justice of the Federation of BiH, the Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska, and the President of the Judicial Commission of Brčko District. The European Commission has also requested preliminary discussions on how to continue substantive reform processes and the processing of war crimes cases.

The European Commission counts on a clear commitment to ways of advancing judicial reform, also within the framework of the new Strategy for Judicial Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This will contribute to the main results already achieved by the Structured Dialogue on Justice: the processing of war crimes cases and the development of measures for professionalism, accountability, independence, and efficiency of the judiciary.

The European Commission expects all authorities to actively engage in renewing the Structured Dialogue, through credible and effective planning of future activities and, subsequently, the progressive implementation of reforms necessary to consolidate an independent, efficient, accountable, and professional judicial system in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

UNINFORMED AT THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

What is interesting is that today, an announcement arrived from the Council of Ministers of BiH regarding the holding of a session to be chaired by the Minister of Justice of BiH, Josip Grubeša.