Analysis of the Draft Law on Courts of BiH Cover Image

Analiza Nacrta Zakona o Sudovima BiH
Analysis of the Draft Law on Courts of BiH

Author(s): Author Not Specified
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Public Law, Evaluation research, Policy, planning, forecast and speculation
Published by: Fondacija Centar za javno pravo
Keywords: Public law; constitution; draft law; Law on Courts; BiH; evaluation; Court of BiH; Higher Court of BiH; judges; selection;
Summary/Abstract: Draft Law on Courts of B&H, created within the framework of the Structured Dialogue with the European Union on judiciary in B&H, is a piece of legislation significantly changing the current structure of the state judiciary in B&H. On the one hand it creates a new State level Court – The Higher Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which may seem as the first step to the creation of a future Supreme Court of B&H, so needed in the fragmented judicial system in B&H. However, upon a closer look at its provisions, the Draft Law deviates to a large extent from the initial idea of simply detaching the Appellate Division of the Court of B&H into a separate court, for reasons of its perceived lack of independence. The Draft Law encroaches considerably upon the competencies, composition, organization and way of functioning of the existing Court of B&H, which was far from the guiding principles expressed at the beginning of the Structured Dialogue in B&H, within which the Draft Law was created. All of this brings into question the purpose of this piece of legislation and the effects it might have on disempowering the State Judiciary in B&H and undermining overall efficiency and independence of State judicial institutions.

  • Page Count: 19
  • Publication Year: 2014
  • Language: Bosnian