New meeting in Banja Luka: What is the fate of the BiH Court?

A meeting of justice ministers within the Structural Dialogue on the Judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina begins in Banja Luka tomorrow, reports the Patria agency.

One of the topics to be discussed at the meeting in Banja Luka concerns the future jurisdiction of the BiH Court.
Authorities from RS are demanding that the BiH Court, in the future, only handle cases of various crimes, while trials for economic or other criminal offenses would fall under the jurisdiction of entity courts.

Experts have assessed that stripping the BiH Court of its jurisdiction would be disastrous for the entire judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The President of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, Milan Tegeltija, stated that the fate of the BiH Court will clearly depend solely on political agreement.

The President of the BiH Court, Meddžida Kreso, previously told the Patria agency that she has been excluded from the Structural Dialogue, but that she is certain it would be disastrous for the BiH Court if its current jurisdictions were to be removed, specifically those stipulated by the current Article 7 of the Law on the Court of BiH.

If the current Article 7 is repealed, Kreso said, the BiH Court would lose its authority to try cases that could have serious harmful consequences for the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or could cause other harmful consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina, or could cause serious economic damage or other harmful consequences outside the territory of the entity or Brčko District of BiH.

The meeting in Banja Luka will be attended by the Minister of Justice of RS, Anton Kasipović, the Minister of Justice of BiH, Josip Grubeša, the Minister of Justice of FBiH, Mato Jozić, the President of the Judicial Commission of Brčko District of BiH, Safet Pizović, and a representative of the European Commission, reports Patria.