Lawyers from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS) have begun a work stoppage today in cases involving official duties. This action could lead to the Court of BiH being unable to hold detention hearings or trials where suspects or defendants are represented by court-appointed lawyers.

The work stoppage will directly impact decisions on detention, extensions of detention, and the imposition of prohibitive measures, all of which, under the Criminal Procedure Code (ZKP), require the presence of a defense attorney.

Previously, the Bar Associations of FBiH and RS sent a letter to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, requesting that trials involving court-appointed lawyers be scheduled once a month. They warned that failure to comply would result in an immediate decision to halt work.

One of their demands includes the payment of overdue fees for acting in official duty cases. The Bar Associations also sent this letter to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, as well as the state ministries of finance and justice, highlighting that lawyers have not received their fees for the past six months due to the state budget not being approved.

RS lawyers specifically demand the adoption of the Fee and Compensation Tariff text submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska on December 5th last year.

On the other hand, Detektor reports that following the adoption of the state budget, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina indicated they should have funds available next week to settle the debts owed to court-appointed lawyers, who had previously announced a strike starting August 1st.

The Court of BiH stated that they were notified by the entity bar associations about organizing a protest with a work stoppage if their demands were not met, including the payment of overdue fees for court-appointed duties.

“When the approved budget becomes operational, and according to the latest information, funds should be available next week, all claims by court-appointed lawyers will be settled,” announced the Court of BiH.

Both entity bar associations have announced strikes and protests due to the unmet demands for the adoption of proposed amendments to the decision on criminal procedure costs according to the BiH Criminal Procedure Code. These amendments were sent to the State Ministry of Justice in September 2023. They also demand the payment of overdue fees and compensation for court-appointed work before the Court of BiH.