Prominent lawyer Vasvija Vidović becomes member of the European Criminal Bar Association

(Patria) - According to Politicki.ba, renowned Bosnian-Herzegovinian lawyer Vasvija Vidović is the first lawyer from Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a member of the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) and its anti-corruption branch of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). This association represents bars and societies from 46 countries, with a membership of over one million lawyers.

At the end of last month, the autumn conference of the European Criminal Bar Association was held in Helsinki, Finland, whose panel, as stated in the conference report, was dedicated to the legal protection of the legal profession through the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers (CJ-AV), established by the Council of Europe.

The panel was attended by 145 legal experts, including members of the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers and the European Convention on the Legal Profession, lawyers representing states, representatives of victims, journalists, and human rights organizations.

Among the four legal experts - panel moderators, was lawyer Vasvija Vidović.

Vidović was introduced as a "criminal lawyer from Bosnia and Herzegovina" where, as stated in the conference report, she "spoke not only about the protection of lawyers, but also testified about her own prosecution that she experienced in her country, thereby showing that challenging times have come for lawyers in several European countries."

Vasvija Vidović's presentation sparked great interest among those present, especially fellow lawyers, but also participants from human rights organizations.

Particular interest was shown in the details of the proceedings being conducted against Vidović before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Namely, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) had previously written to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, demanding that lawyers in BiH perform their duties "without fear of reprisal and persecution."

In the aforementioned letter to the BiH authorities, after reviewing the case of the judicial prosecution of Vasvija Vidović, the president of this organization, Pierre Dominique Schupp, stated that he believes her prosecution is "related to the legitimate activities of a lawyer, which should not happen," thereby demanding the protection of lawyer Vidović.

Also, after the start of the proceedings against lawyer Vasvija Vidović, then defense attorney of Ranko Debevec, then president of the Court of BiH, the Association of Bar Associations and Notaries of Germany, which comprises about 60,000 lawyers from Germany and abroad, also addressed the BiH authorities.

In their letter, they stated that "at this moment it must be emphasized that Vidović only acted in the performance of her professional duties, which should have been subject to constitutional protection and which is subject to the basic principles of the UN rule of law."

The participants of the panel where Vidović was one of the moderators were informed of the content of these letters.

Incidentally, besides Vasvija Vidović, the panel moderators were Sophio Gelashivili, head of the CDCJ Legal Cooperation Unit and secretary of the CJ-AV, then Nathan Roosbeek, legal policy advisor at CCBE from Brussels, and Valerie Dupong, representative of Luxembourg in the CJ-AV.

As can be seen from the information that reached the public after the conference in Helsinki, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) is aware of all actions taken by the BiH Prosecutor's Office regarding the indictment against Vidović, which suggests that their experts will carefully monitor the entire course of the proceedings being conducted against Vidović before the Court of BiH.

This is especially because the indictment against Ranko Debevec has not yet been filed, while the trial of his lawyer continues.

Incidentally, the continuation of the main trial in the proceedings against Vasvija Vidović before the Court of BiH, which was interrupted on September 23, is scheduled for October 30, 2024.