Perić: There is no one in the Prosecutor's Office to organize work and implement any recommendations

(Patria) - The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina has implemented only four out of a total of 32 recommendations related to this institution, which were given in an earlier report from 2016 by Judge Korner for the improvement of work on war crimes cases, while 15 recommendations remained unimplemented, and 13 were only partially implemented.

Such a result is a product of a deeply politicized judicial system in BiH, according to interlocutors of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH).

As some of the unimplemented recommendations, Korner pointed out that monthly meetings between heads of departments and prosecutors are still not being held, that the recommendation to return regional teams for working on war crimes cases has not been fully implemented, as well as insufficient efforts to resolve the challenges of conducting parallel investigations, that the investigation plan is prepared by investigators although the law stipulates that prosecutors should do it, that the previous problem of a lack of mentoring for younger prosecutors has still not been resolved, and that there is still a lack of transparency in working on so-called "A" cases.

The lack of coordination of regional teams, as prescribed by Korner in her first report from 2016, is the biggest problem in the slow work on "A" cases, according to Minka Kreho, president of the Criminal Division of the BiH Court.

"Regional teams are not working as they should in cooperation with investigators, and there are a lot of "A" category cases. These teams are not well divided, and if this were 'connected', the 'big cases' would be resolved much faster. I hope that Judge Korner's repeated report will influence improvements in the work of the BiH Prosecutor's Office," said Kreho.

Lawyer Nina Kisić believes that it would be most responsible and effective for the BiH Prosecutor's Office to urgently implement all recommendations prescribed by Korner, which relate to the efficiency of work based on the principle of the Hague Tribunal.

"It is specific that there, department heads communicate at least once a week and inform each other about the progress of cases, which is not the case with the BiH Prosecutor's Office, which Korner also warns about. The absence of a new State strategy is the cause of all the problems of ineffective justice that Korner warns about, and it needs to be worked on urgently," Kisić stated.

Bosnian and Herzegovinian authorities adopted a Strategy for working on war crimes cases in 2008, which stipulated that the most complex cases would be prosecuted at the state level within seven years, and all other cases would be transferred to the entity level and completed within 15 years, i.e., by 2023.

Given that the seven-year deadline expired at the end of 2015 and not all the most complex war crimes cases at the state level were completed, a revised Strategy was prepared, which envisages that a larger number of cases be transferred to the entity level, but it was never adopted by the Council of Ministers.

As some of the unimplemented recommendations, Korner pointed out that the issue of lack of transparency in working on so-called "A" cases has not been resolved.

"For years, we have been warning the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina about such cases, in order to speed up the prosecution of individuals based on command responsibility. We have provided them with names from lists of people who are moving freely, and nothing has ever been done. As long as perpetrators do not have names inscribed in verdicts, just as our children have names inscribed on tombstones, there will be no reconciliation and justice in these areas," said Munira Subašić, president of the Association "Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves".

Work on the new State strategy is full of political interference, believes lawyer Ifet Feraget, and the lack of accountability in the work of the BiH Prosecutor's Office leadership is the key to all problems, he added.

"When we have a system where someone will be held accountable for their (in)action in the Prosecutor's Office, we will have an effective judiciary and the fulfillment of Korner's recommendations. We have a situation where we are begging the State Prosecutor's Office to work on war crimes cases, especially those from the 'A' list. Politics has brought us to this point, because those who work on the State strategy have neither the knowledge nor the experience to implement it as they should," said Feraget.

Such a report from Korner could have been expected, and only one person in BiH can force the leaders of the BiH judicial system to do their job, said judge Branko Perić.

"In the Prosecutor's Office, there is no one to organize work and implement any recommendations. It is time to move from reports to solving problems of a personal nature in the HJPC (High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council) and the BiH Prosecutor's Office. Currently, no one can do this except the High Representative, Valentin Inzko," said Perić.

In both reports, Korner emphasized that war crimes cases are not managed well enough and that the Prosecutor's Office faces challenges in leadership and organization.

Korner's 2016 report definitively listed all the shortcomings of the judiciary, and Murat Tahirović, president of the Association of Witnesses and Victims of Genocide, is not surprised that nothing has been done in the past four years.

"The revised strategy was supposed to improve work on so-called 'A' cases, and unfortunately, it's all due to the politics that manages the BiH Prosecutor's Office. Judge Korner's first poor report was also clear, and we knew that nothing significant would change by the time of this new report," said Tahirović.

When someone with vast legal experience, like Judge Korner, writes recommendations, of which - in four years - we fulfill only four, the conclusion is self-evident, believes lawyer Vlado Adamović.

"It is obvious that it is all up to us. We always look for excuses for difficulties in work, and they are always subjective, including the recommendations we have not fulfilled in four years. People in positions in the judicial system simply do not measure up to the task and the position they hold, and that's it," said Adamović.

The president of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC BiH), Milan Tegeltija, did not want to comment on Korner's new report because, as he said, he had not had the opportunity to see it. BIRN BiH was told by the HJPC that they have not been sent Judge Korner's new report, and that it will be considered at a HJPC session when it is officially submitted.