AND THE HERO OF THE MONTH ARRIVES If the War Crimes Department is a punishment for prosecutors, why are we surprised that there is no justice in BiH?

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

The news that prosecutor Džermin Pašić (Hero of the Month for the US Embassy) has been transferred to the War Crimes Department of the BiH Prosecutor's Office as a “punishment” reopens the question of logic and principles in the work of the judiciary.

If you weren't honorable in the previous department, what earned you a transfer to another, or rather, who guarantees that you will become 'clean and exemplary' by being transferred? No one, and of course, that is not the intention.

If a department that should prosecute the most serious crimes is used as a punitive battalion, rather than an instrument of justice, then the entire system loses its meaning. And that has been clear for a long time; I wrote a similar text less than a year ago.

For years, the War Crimes Department has faced criticism for selectivity in indictments. While some prosecutors build careers by exclusively prosecuting members of the Army of RBiH, other prosecutors are transferred to this department almost as if it were a “punishment” or isolation. The practice of prosecutors who have “sinned elsewhere” ending up in this department clearly shows that professional criteria are not primary, and 'war crimes' become collateral damage of politics and career ambitions.

Past examples, such as Dubravko Čampara, Dijana Kajmaković, and Oleg Čavka, point to the same pattern: individuals who fail to achieve “results” or political goals are transferred to a department where, it seems, they do nothing significant. On the other hand, names like Milanko Kajganić, Miroslav Janjić, or Marijana Čobović remain in the spotlight thanks to cases like Dobrovoljačka, Čemerno, Naser Orić, and Atif Dudaković – cases that have become tools for career advancement more than justice.

This practice is particularly concerning because it further marginalizes Bosniak judicial кадров and weakens the principles of impartiality. Instead of a coordinated and strategic approach, Bosniaks in the judiciary often become passive observers, while key decisions are made without their influence. This is also confirmed by claims of selectivity in appointments to leadership positions.

In this situation, the War Crimes Department no longer serves the purpose of justice. It becomes a space for political “punishments,” career advancement, and confirmation of selective approaches, instead of the prosecution of war crimes being impartial and evidence-based. The example of prosecutor Vladimir Simović, who admitted that he filed the indictment in the Čemerno case on the orders of the National Assembly of RS, confirms that politics is often stronger than the law.

And how meaningful is it to use the War Crimes Department as a means of political manipulation or internal punishment of prosecutors? If urgent reform does not occur, the principle of equality and impartiality in the BiH judiciary will remain just an idea, while citizens continue to lose faith in a system that should protect justice, not serve career and political interests.

Simply put, the current practice no longer makes sense. If a department dealing with the most serious crimes is used for “punishment” or career maneuvering, justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina is seriously jeopardized, although, let's be honest, we have known this for a long time!

That is why we do not expect indictments for the siege of Sarajevo, that is why we have been waiting for years for indictments for crimes in Biljani, that is why Mićo Kraljević skillfully avoids trials... That is why members of the Army of RBiH and the MUP of RBiH fill the courtrooms and defend themselves, defend themselves from those whose lives they defended, only to be judged by them today, because they defended themselves!