The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has fulfilled all obligations to court-appointed attorneys as soon as the 2024 budget funds became operational, the court announced in response to the reasons cited by the Bar Associations of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska for their work stoppage decision.

The court stated that a total of 1,384,359.48 KM was paid in 2024, of which 1,303,685.55 KM was for court-appointed attorney fees, and 80,673.93 KM for costs related to acquittals. Of this amount, 460,531.71 KM was paid between January and July through available funds within operational plans during temporary financing, and 923,827.77 KM was paid after the budget approval.

“As of August 7 this year, the Court of BiH has settled all outstanding obligations. Therefore, the Bar Associations of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska no longer have grounds for continuing the work stoppage of court-appointed attorneys before the Court of BiH, especially considering that the Court of BiH cannot influence nor is it responsible for amending the Decision of the Council of Ministers on the reimbursement of criminal procedure costs according to the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH in terms of the requested increase in attorney fees,” the Court of BiH stated.

To recall, attorneys from the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska began their work stoppage in court-appointed cases on August 1.

The Bar Associations of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska previously sent a letter to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, requesting that trials in cases where court-appointed attorneys are involved be scheduled once a month, threatening to immediately decide on a work stoppage otherwise.

One of the demands was the payment of overdue fees for court-appointed attorneys.

Both entity Bar Associations announced a strike and protest due to the unmet demand for adopting a proposed amendment to the Decision on the reimbursement of criminal procedure costs according to the Criminal Procedure Code of BiH, which was sent to the State Ministry of Justice in September 2023, and to ensure the payment of overdue fees and rewards for the work of court-appointed attorneys before the Court of BiH.