Norms Exist their Application is Missing
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Each country is obliged to promote regulations and norms and bring criminals to justice, Schaller said in his introductory speech at a conference entitled, The Role of Local Judiciary in Implementation of the International Humanitarian Law.”
Meddzida Kreso, President of the Court of BiH, said that the Court of BiH was an example of positive practices related to the respect and implementation of the international humanitarian laws.
State Court judges face challenges related to the individualisation of criminal responsibility on a daily basis. That is an extremely difficult job, Kreso said.
According to her estimates, the Court of BiH has done a lot, but not enough.
As said during the Conference, over the course of the past few years the focus has been put on co-operation between judicial institutions and prosecutors offices in BiH, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia.
Prosecutors from the countries in the region said that their co-operation in investigations and examinations of suspects was getting better and better each day and that the exchange of information and evidence was at an enviable level.
Nevertheless, no trials have yet begun on the basis of the Protocol on co-operation in prosecuting war crimes perpetrators signed between BiH and Serb a year-and-a-half ago.
As said by Conference participants, a lot of attention is paid to the protection of witnesses and their identities, but omissions are still seen in investigations related to threats to witnesses.
Representatives of the Croatian State Attorneys Office said that their institutions motto was that no crimes should be hidden and that special attention is paid to a witness protection programme.
As said at a session dedicated to the processing of war crimes, protection of rights of indictees is more important than protection of witnesses rights in Serbia.
In order for a state judicial system to be efficient in fighting the violations of the international humanitarian law, it is necessary for all subjects, participating in the process, including prosecutors, judges and attorneys, to be adequately educated and trained, the Conference participants pointed out.
The two-day Conference is organized by the International Committee of Red Cross, Embassy of Switzerland, the OSCE and the Court of BiH.
