Judicial Effectiveness Index Bosnia and Herzegovina Presented at a Public Event

On May 24, 2016 Judicial Effectiveness Index of Bosnia and Herzegovina (JEI-BiH) developed by USAID MEASURE-BiH was presented at the public outreach event organized by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC).

During the event, the HJPC presented its achievements in using information technologies in judicial sector  and  the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) applied in the Secretariat of the HJPC through the project "Support to the Secretariat of the HJPC BiH" funded by the United Kingdom Embassy in BiH.

Opening speech at the event was given by the President of the HJPC, Mr. Milan Tegeltija, who acknowledged the support of the USAID and the Embassy of United Kingdom in BiH in the implementation of these projects and emphasized that that the HJPC must continue to address issues of effectiveness of the judiciary system. He also underlined: "The Council is a pioneer in many areas. With the introduction of new initiatives we are fully committed to continuing to apply modern best practices in BiH judiciary."

The audience was then addresses by the US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina HE Maureen Cormack. In her speech, Ambassador Cormack stressed the importance of the Index as a tool for assessing and monitoring the progress of reform of BiH judiciary. In particular, she emphasized the quality of the Index in terms of inclusion of data on public perception of BiH citizens. "JEI-BIH, which the HJPC is launching today with the help of USAID, will in fact track progress in terms of the judicial effectiveness.

 How old are the cases in the BiH judicial system? How efficient are the courts in clearing the backlogs? That kind of data, combined with citizens'''' perception, and perception of judges and prosecutors themselves, can give a clear picture of progress, or the lack of it. It can also raise important questions along the way…The value of the JEI is twofold: it raises questions, but it also makes the evidence and the basis for those questions available to the public. Everybody in BiH can now know (…) how long it takes to resolve criminal cases, civil cases or commercial cases…This is why the JEI is so important: it provides a tool for the HJPC, judicial officials and prosecutors to embrace the process of constant self-examination, evaluation and improvement… I therefore invite the HJPC to use the index as its own management tool to identify necessary reforms…The US government, and your European neighbors, will continue to challenge you to achieve true rule of law here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we will not require you to travel that road alone. We will support you along the way, because the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina deserve honest and transparent justice system", said Ambassador Cormack.

The British Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina HE Edward Ferguson also addressed the audience.
In addition to the NGOs and media, the event was attended by members of the HJPC, representatives of BiH Ministry of Justice and judicial institutions in BiH, the Directorate for European Integration, guests from international organizations, and guests from other institutions in BiH.