The Council of Europe and the Ministry of Justice of FBiH organised on 22 November 2023 in Sarajevo a discussion with the cantonal ministers of the justice and their representatives on introducing of a legal remedy against the excessive length of court proceedings in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his welcoming remarks, Federal Minister of Justice, Mr Vedran Škobić, pointed out that the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights due to the lack of judicial protection of the trial within a reasonable time. As he stated, this does not only violate the principle of the rule of law and citizens' trust in the rule of law, but also has significant implications for the budgets of the cantons and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ms Bojana Urumova, head of the Council of Europe office in Sarajevo, emphasized the need to adopt a legal framework that will fully meet the standards of the Council of Europe and primarily provide adequate mechanisms for preventive action, and secondly the right to fair non-pecuniary compensation for the excessive length of judicial proceedings. She encouraged the authorities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to adopt an adequate legal solution that will ensure the protection of the right to a trial within a reasonable time, and consequently the right to a fair trial.

During discussion , recommendations  for improvement of the draft Law on the Protection of the Right to Trial within a Reasonable Time in FBiH were  elaborated  which were highlighted in the Analysis of the Legal Framework Governing the Protection of the Right to Trial within a Reasonable Time in BiH.

This activity was organised within the project " Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in BiH – Phase III".