Top international actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomed the adoption of changes to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) in Bosnia’s Parliament on Monday and praised the political parties for proving that a compromise acceptable to all is possible.
“We strongly welcome today’s adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code by the Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives, which is aligned with international and European standards,” said the European Union’s Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This is of a great importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s further progress on its way towards the EU and essential for the ability of rule of law institutions to conduct sensitive investigations and cooperate with international law enforcement agencies,” the EU’s office in Sarajevo said.
The international community has been urging the authorities to amend the law provisions, which the Constitutional Court said were disputable, warning about possible consequences. After a little over one year, the Parliament did it.
The Office of the High Representative (OHR), an institution overseeing civilian part of the implementation of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, issued a joint statement with the US Embassy, congratulating the Parliament for adopting the amendments.
They said this would enable Bosnia and Herzegovina to better fight organized crime and corruption, terrorism and other complex threats in line with international standards.
“These amendments were adopted unanimously by all members of the House of Representatives present at the session,” they said commending the political parties for placing “the safety and security of the country above party politics.”
The Constitutional Court declared some of the Law’s articles addressing the process of granting immunity from legal prosecution, physical search and special investigative procedures as unconstitutional in 2016, and gave lawmakers six months to adopt adequate changes.
The House of Peoples adopted the law changes the last week and Monday’s decision from the other chamber completed the procedure necessary for the new law to be in place.
