OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina helps improve integrity, independence, and accountability of BiH judiciary

A two-day seminar hosted by the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on ethics, conflict of interest, and disciplinary practices for judges and prosecutors from across BiH started on 17 November 2021 in Sarajevo. The event aims to help improve the integrity, independence, and accountability of BiH judiciary.

The seminar — the second such event organized by the Mission — is being carried out in co-operation with Federation of BiH’s Judicial and Prosecutorial Training Centre and with the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes allegations of professional misconduct by judges and prosecutors. 

“All parties to a dispute, including defendants and those filing charges against them, expect the judiciary to act in an unbiased, ethical, and professional manner," said Michael Schuetz, Head of the Mission's Rule of Law Section.

“We started monitoring disciplinary proceedings initiated by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel in 2019. Our observations indicated that training on ethical standards was needed across the judiciary to improve current practices and to prevent unethical behaviour by judges and prosecutors and the occurrence of both intentional and unintentional bias.”

A 2019 survey conducted amongst judges and prosecutors by USAID’s Justice Project indicated that there is still a need for training on the topic of ethics and conflict of interest, as 75 per cent of respondents said such a training course should be mandatory, while 54 per cent have not attended such training over the last five years.

The OSCE Mission to BiH is mandated with strengthening human rights, democratic governance, and security co-operation. Through targeted monitoring and reporting, and the provision of relevant training courses, the Mission assists in enhancing the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of the judiciary.