Memorandum on Financial Support to B&H Judicial Institutions Signed

The Deputy Chairman of the B&H Council of Ministers and Minister of Finance and Treasure of B&H Nikola Špirić and the Head of the EU Delegation in B&H Peter Sorensen signed today in Sarajevo a Memorandum of understanding on budget support to the B&H judiciary from the IPA program 2012. The Minister of Justice of B&H Bariša Čolak will also sign the Memorandum on another occasion, since he was unable to attend today’s ceremony.

The signing of this document will allow the disbursement of the first tranche in the amount of 7.438.000 euros for financing of new persecutors, counselors, infrastructure and other support staff who will be engaged in courts at all levels of government for war crime cases. The total amount that will be paid to assist the judiciary institutions in B&H is 15 million euros.

Sorensen highlighted to the media that the signing of the Memorandum has an emotional dimension and the dimension of reconciliation and capacity building of the judiciary in B&H.

“It is important that unsolved cases of war crimes in B&H and their solutions are necessary for B&H to overcome the past and to move towards the future. There are about 1.300 cases that need to be solved as soon as possible”, stated Sorensen.

The EU and OSCE, added Sorensen, will monitor this program, which will last 2 years.

Ambassador Sorensen and Chairman of the High Judiciary and Prosecutor Council Milorad Novković signed an Operating Memorandum, which indicates the hiring of 20 new prosecutors for the persecution of war crimes.

(Source: Fena)