BiH Council of Ministers approves extension for resolving war crimes cases to 2028

The extension of the revised strategy’s deadline for handling war crimes cases was made on the recommendation of the Supervisory Body monitoring the implementation of this document.

Detektor previously reported that the proposal was initiated by the Court and the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, with the Court suggesting a three-year extension and the Prosecutor’s Office proposing two years.

Sedin Idrizovic, a member of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) and the institution’s representative in the Supervisory Body, explained earlier that 49 percent of the total unresolved cases remain before the Prosecutor’s Office, while 43 percent involve suspects and accused who are unavailable.

He added that the Council’s position is that cases involving unavailable suspects and accused should be transferred to the courts where these individuals are located.

Victims' associations and their families criticized the decision, saying it was a major oversight that they were not consulted regarding the extension.

This is the second time the revised strategy’s deadline has been extended. The first deadline was set for 2023, and when it was not met, a new deadline was established for the end of 2025.

Although the revised strategy was drafted in 2018, it was officially adopted in 2020, with the goal that all war crimes cases be completed within five years.

The first Strategy for Handling War Crimes Cases was adopted in December 2008. According to it, the most complex cases were to be concluded at the state level within seven years, which was not achieved, while the remaining cases were expected to be completed within 15 years, BIRN BiH reports.