“Discussion during the event “Ethics and integrity in the judiciary” in Sarajevo with W. Schubert, former President of the Constitutional Court of Saxony-Anhalt and the Naumburg Higher Regional Court.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
A seminar for trainee teachers from various cities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in Sarajevo on 4 September 2023, jointly organised by the Centre for the Education of Judges and Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEST FBiH) and the IRZ, on the topic “Ethics and integrity in the judiciary”. It was financed with project funding from the Federal Foreign Office.
The event opened with a welcome address from the Director of the Centre, Dr. Arben Murtezić, and the Deputy German Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bernhard Abels. The latter particularly emphasised the importance of the judiciary, which went far beyond the scope of the participants taking part in the respective proceedings, as the reputation of the courts also determines the acceptance of the state by the citizens.
The Deputy Chief Disciplinary Public Prosecutor at the Disciplinary Public Prosecutor's Office of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirza H. Omerović, and the former President of the Constitutional Court of Saxony-Anhalt and the Naumberg Higher Regional Court, Winfried Schubert, presented the principles of professional ethics in the respective laws.
Numerous cases from judicial practice were also presented which the participants analysed in groups.
A report with images on the Centre for Education’s homepage which provides an insight into the event is available here: http://www.fbih.cest.gov.ba/.
Participants in the group work. Bosnia and Herzegovina
The IRZ and the “Centre for the Education of Judges and Public Prosecutors of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina” organised a hybrid training course for prospective judges on the “European Convention on Human Rights and Equal Rights (ECHR)” on 5-6 June 2023.
The speakers presented Art. 5 and 6 and Art. 14 of the ECHR in accordance with the curriculum of the Centre.
Lawyer Holger Hembach who, after several years working in human rights for the OSCE in South East Europe and Africa now represents clients before the ECHR and is also the author of several publications on the subject, presented practical cases that the participants worked on in groups. Important aspects here were the potential for judges to influence the design of procedures that is fit for purpose, the active and transparent conduct of negotiations and the substantiated justification of decisions.
Prof. Dr Zlatan Meskić, who is currently lecturing in Riyadh, presented several cases of discrimination, with a focus on gender discrimination. In addition to the main concept of case law of the European Court in Strasbourg, he presented the structural schemes used by the ECHR when examining cases.
Notary Dr. Lovro Tomasić, Federal Chamber of Notaries in a TV interview. Bosnia and Herzegovina
The conference on the role of notaries in preventing money laundering and in combating the financing of terrorism, and the relevant cooperation with other relevant stakeholders”, jointly organised by the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the German Federal Chamber of Notaries (BNotK) and the IRZ which took place in Sarajevo on 28 March, attracted great media attention.
The event took place in the context of various measures that have been implemented to de facto abolish the Latin notary public, which was introduced and implemented with great support from Germany, particularly from the IRZ and the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit - a development agency), in the larger of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The organisers took this starting point as an opportunity to emphasise that the notary's office not only provides qualified, neutral legal advice and preventive administration of justice in civil law. Due to the examination and reporting obligations in the area of combating money laundering, it also contributes to prevention in a part of criminal law that is important for society as a whole.
The event was opened by Anica Nakić, President of the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The introductory speeches were given by the BNotK representative for international affairs, notary, Dr. Lovro Tomašić, and the Chairman of the Committee for Professional Development at the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zdenko Puljić.
This was followed by words of welcome from the President of the International Union of Notaries (UINL), Lionel Galliez, who highlighted the importance of the Latin notariat as a generally recognised and reliable legal institution that contributes in many ways to the benefit of society as a whole.
During the panel discussion that followed, the former Deputy Minister of Justice of the umbrella state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Head of the Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (Moneyval) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Nezir Pivić, President of the Administrative Committee of the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Notary Public Sefedin Suljević, Ajla Mešetović, from the State Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA) and Dr. Lovro Tomašić explored aspects of the conference theme. The responsible Project Area Manager at the IRZ, Dr. Stefan Pürner moderated the discussion in the local language.
The event was rounded off by numerous questions and contributions from the auditorium.
The event is part of a cooperation between the Chamber of Notaries of the Federation, the BNotK and the IRZ that has existed since the Chamber of Notaries was founded more than 15 years ago. In this context, a separate training course for notaries and employees of notaries' offices on the same topic was held on the same day.
