The BiH Prosecutor’s Office has responded angrily to a report on war crimes prosecution, commissioned by the OSCE mission in BiH. Judge Joanna Korner prepared the report, which reiterates many recommendations that are already part of BiH’s official war crimes strategy, such as increasing the number of low-level cases referred to entity courts, and focusing on suspects who held command responsibility for war crimes.
“To reduce the number of outstanding cases, it is recommended that the Prosecution… undertake a comprehensive overview of cases in which trials have still not commenced so they could determine whether any of them fulfil the criteria for being referred to entity courts,” Korner said in her analysis, which was presented in Sarajevo by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to Korner, when an investigation indicates that suspects do not fulfil the criteria for trial before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the state prosecution should refer the investigations to entity prosecutions.
“The practice of filing indictments against suspects with the purpose of fulfilling the quota, achieving favourable statistical indicators or due to pressure by the media and victims’ groups, should be discontinued.”
Despite the fact that these recommendations are not controversial, and the fact that the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council welcomed the report, the Prosecutor’s Office issed a statement calling Korner’s report “an attack on judicial institutions” and an attempt to “influence cases.”
