A round table on the methodology and protocols for the exchange of case-law was organised on 30 June 2021 in Trebinje, with the support of the Initiative for Legal Certainty and Efficient Judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Phase II, implemented by the Council of Europe and funded by the Kingdom of Norway.
A Council of Europe expert for constitutional case-law, as well as representatives of the Council of Europe, the Standing Committee for Education and Judicial Documentation of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Department of Judicial Documentation and Education of the HJPC Secretariat contributed to the discussion.
The round table was an opportunity for the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the highest regular courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH, and international courts to exchange experience about publishing court decisions and case-law. They discussed standards to be achieved by publishing court decisions, primarily to increase the transparency of the judiciary and enhance the accountability of judicial office holders. The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina presented its methodology for documenting, analysing and exchanging case-law information, and there was also a presentation of comparative case-law of the ECtHR Jurisconsult as a form of professional support for judges. There was talk about how best practices in this area could be replicated at regular courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in view of the activities currently being implemented under the EU funded IPA 2017 project “Building an Effective and Citizen-friendly Judiciary” at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the case-law departments of the Supreme Courts of the Federation of BiH and of Republika Srpska, and the Appellate Court of the Brčko District, as well as the Department of Judicial Documentation and Education of the Secretariat of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH.
It was pointed out that any solutions defining methodologies and protocols should ensure:
- Comprehensiveness and availability of case-law
- Continuous activities to expand the range of keywords for searching case-law databases
- Training professional staff for, among other things, searching case-law databases
- Establishing constant communication between regular courts
- Defining the progression of cases at courts
Discussions in this vein are supposed to continue in September with members of the HJPC Standing Committee for Education and Judicial Documentation and the highest regular courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a series of meetings organised in Trebinje on 1 and 2 July 2021, the Council of Europe held further discussions with representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and legal advisors working in case-law departments of the highest courts under the EU funded project “Building an Effective and Citizen-friendly Judiciary”. The meetings were held to explore the possibilities for enhancing activities to exchange technical information and to support professional development by identifying further training needs of legal advisors, which, in addition to strengthening teamwork, was the primary aim of the meetings.
