Representatives of the ministries of justice and the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) visited the Council of Europe (CoE), including the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), on 6-7 November 2023.

The study visit aimed at enhancing the dialogue between the CoE and the national stakeholders concerning the execution of judgments of the ECtHR and the importance of harmonisation of the case law, which is essential to ensure legal certainty for the people and more trust in the judiciary.

The delegation was composed of Mr Miloš Bukejlović, Minister of Justice of Republika Srpska; Mr Vedran Škobić, Minister of Justice of Federation of BiH and assistants to ministers and legal advisors at the case law departments of the highest instance courts and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the visit, the ministers had an opportunity to exchange views with the Director of Human Rights and the Execution Department, Mr Christophe Poirel, and discuss pending issues concerning the execution of a certain number of the ECtHR judgments rendered in respect of BiH.

In addition, the delegation engaged in a constructive dialogue with the judge of the ECtHR elected in respect of BiH and the lawyer of the ECtHR’s Registry on the outstanding issues and cases against BiH before the ECtHR. Participants were introduced to the mandate of the Jurisconsult at the ECtHR, including case-law systematisation and methodology of classification of human rights issues in the ECtHR. Furthermore, the delegation got familiarised with the role and mandate of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) as well as with the intensive work of the CoE in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) covered by the Committee on Artificial Intelligence (CAI).

The study visit was organised within the framework of the Project “Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina -Phase III”.