A series of meetings held in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Brčko on 27 and 28 April 2026 focused on assessing the current use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in the judiciary of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ministry of Justice of BiH, the Bar Association of the Federation of BiH, the Association of Mediators of BiH, and judges from the Basic Court of Brčko District identified practical obstacles to the wider use of mediation and discussed opportunities for its further development.

The HJPC has already received support from the Council of Europe's European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) in promoting the national strategy on alternative dispute resolution. The meetings also provided an opportunity to present relevant CEPEJ tools and methodologies in the field of mediation, including the Mediation Development Toolkit, court referral mechanisms and quality standards.

The findings from these exchanges will serve as a basis for preparing targeted recommendations aimed at strengthening referrals to mediation and other ADR mechanisms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ultimately contributing to greater efficiency and improved access to justice.

This activity was organised under the CEPEJ action “Strengthening the Efficiency and Quality of Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiHSEJ)”, as part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe’s programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye".