Twelfth meeting of Association of Court Reporters (AIS)

Representatives of Association of Reporters of the Court of BiH (AIS) held their 12th meeting in Sarajevo on Thursday, 17 May.

At the meeting, the decreasing number of journalists regularly reporting on the work of the War Crimes Chamber was discussed, as well as problems related to improvement of communication and cooperation with the Court of BiH, and plans for continued engagement of association members and for initiation of new activities.

The meeting was attended by representatives of BIRN BiH, Konrad Adenauer Foundation and media professionals from BH Radio 1, FTV, FENA and the Justice Report agency.

The association has agreed to refer recommendations concerning monitoring of war crime trials to media/editorial boards. This would contribute to the impartial and timely dissemination of information to the general public about war crime processes, which should be an obligation and responsibility of media.

Public services have an obligation to monitor important processes in the country, which have a direct or indirect impact on the future of the citizens of this country. Reporting about war crime trials is extremely important for strengthening of the reconciliation process, and for coping with the past. It should, therefore, be incorporated into the editorial policies of public services in BiH – as a part of their daily information programmes or through special weekly features.

The association members have agreed that an advocacy process should be initiated with the Public Broadcasting Service in BiH so that it can eventually introduce obligatory monitoring of war crime trials before the Court of BiH.

The members have also discussed requests received from other colleagues from BiH who monitor war crime trials before local courts. The colleagues have asked for help and support several times, in order to achieve more efficient reporting. AIS members have, accordingly, discussed a possibility of initiation of new activities related to cooperation with court reporting journalists from other parts of BiH.

Concerning cooperation with the Court of BiH, it has been agreed that representatives of AIS and the court will have a meeting on Friday, 25 May to discuss how cooperation between the Court and media/reporters can be improved, as well as ways to boost the flow of information to the public.

In the past, the association has presented its work through a series of conferences on “Responsibility of the Media”. An integral part of the conferences, organised by the Press Council of BiH with the support of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, was promotion of an addendum to the Press Codex and recommendations for court reporters. The conferences were held in Mostar, Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Bijeljina during March.

During the conferences, association representatives had an opportunity to talk to their journalist colleagues – and also to representatives of judicial institutions. They also presented recommendations referring to impartiality and ethics of journalists covering war crime trials, self-control in reporting and respect of human rights of victims and indictees, their family members and protected witnesses.

The Association of Court Reporters was founded in 2005 with the aim of introducing, through a coordinated effort, the activities of the Court of BiH and prosecution to general public. AIS is financially supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation as part of a project of BIRN BiH “Media, civil society and war crime trials “.