ZAGREB, May 25, 2019 – Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Justice Minister Josip Grubeša and Chief State Prosecutor Gordana Tadić met in Zagreb on Friday with their Croatian counterparts and agreed future procedures in war crimes cases thus removing obstacles that existed in the referral of those cases, Bosnian judicial institutions in Sarajevo have reported.
Minister Grubeša and Chief State Prosecutor Tadić visited Croatia on the occasion of an event marking the national day of prosecutors.
Bosnia’s justice ministry said in a press release that the Bosnian officials met on the margins of that event with Croatia’s Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković and Chief State Prosecutor Dražen Jelenić.
The talks focused on outstanding issues in cooperation between the two countries’ prosecutorial authorities and justice ministries, and the importance of referring war crimes cases, which is regulated by an international agreement and protocols, was underscored.
“In that regard it was necessary to resolve certain issues concerning the procedure itself in order to enable more efficient prosecution, which we indeed did today,” a press release said.
Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina do not extradite their citizens accused of war crimes, however, an agreement signed by the two countries envisages the possibility of referring war crimes cases to the other country to be prosecuted.
Numerous people accused of war crimes have exploited their dual citizenship to avoid trial.
More news about relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina can be found in the Politics section.
