Mr. Serge Brammertz, Chief Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) concluded an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 3 to 6 May 2026. The visit formed part of preparations for his regular biannual progress report to the United Nations Security Council.
During the visit, Prosecutor Brammertz held high-level meetings with Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milanko Kajganić, as well as with representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, and victims’ representatives.
The Prosecutor also met members of the diplomatic community.
Chief Prosecutor Kajganić provided information on his Office’s activities and work and reported a backlog of 150 cases involving nearly 2,000 known suspects pending before the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in addition to almost 1,000 cases concerning unknown perpetrators. This backlog does not include the more than 2,000 additional cases before lower-level prosecution offices throughout the country reported by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council. While 51 trials are ongoing before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pace of proceedings remains slow, with only five first instance verdicts issued in 2025. National authorities reported that these pending cases will will take many more years to process and finalise.
Chief Prosecutor Kajganić reported on cross-border judicial cooperation, noting positive cooperation with authorities in Montenegro, and challenges with other countries. Prosecutor Brammertz and Chief Prosecutor Kajganić discussed how to improve cooperation and overcome the current impasse in relation to cases involving unavailable suspects.
Prosecutor Brammertz stated:
We face the very unfortunate and unacceptable situation that hundreds of perpetrators of crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still living freely in Serbia and Croatia with regional cooperation unfortunately being at a low level.
National and international partners emphasised the importance of the continued support and assistance to national prosecutors by the Mechanism’s Office of the Prosecutor. Prosecutor Brammertz assured the Office of the Prosecutor’s commitment to meeting requests from Member States. Prosecutor Brammertz expressed his appreciation for the long-standing support of the EU to the Mechanism Office of the Prosecutor, including through the joint EU-Mechanism project to support war crimes accountability in the region.
Recognising that the United Nations Security Council will discuss the future of the Mechanism in June, Prosecutor Brammertz underscored that the justice process in Bosnia and Herzegovina is far from complete and that substantial work remains to be done.
Prosecutor Brammertz is expected to brief the United Nations Security Council in June, when the current mandate ends.
