Yesterday's signing of the Protocol on Cooperation of the Prosecutor's Office of BIH and the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia was welcomed by the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICTY in The Hague.
Senior Officials of the European Commission, European Union and the U.S. Justice Department welcomed the signing of the Protocol of the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Office of the War Crimes Prosecutor of the Republic of Serbia on Cooperation in Prosecution of Perpetrators of War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity and Genocide.
The Prosecutor's Office of BiH led by the Chief Prosecutor shall undertake intense activities pertaining to the signing of a Protocol on cooperation with Prosecutor's Offices of Croatia and Montenegro in the upcoming period.
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
PRESS RELEASE
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OTP welcomes signing of protocol on war crimes cases cooperation between
Prosecutor’s Offices of BiH And Serbia
The Office of the Prosecutor welcomes the signing today in Brussels of the Protocol between the War Crimes Prosecutor's office of Serbia and the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the exchange of evidence and information in war crimes cases.
The signing of the Protocol, which aims to facilitate cooperation between the Prosecutor’s offices of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to bring perpetrators of grave crimes to justice, represents a significant step in the combat against impunity in the former Yugoslavia. Enhanced cooperation between the Prosecutor’s offices is critical for the victims of the crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia who seek justice and redress for their suffering.
If adequately implemented, the Protocol could offer practical solutions to problems such as parallel investigations between the two countries and represent an important step towards addressing the backlog of cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Office of the Prosecutor appreciates in particular the efforts provided by the European Union, which has hosted the signing of the Protocol, to achieve this result.
Together with its international partners, the Office of the Prosecutor will continue to support all efforts to strengthen national war crimes prosecutions in the former Yugoslavia and cooperation between the Prosecutor’s offices in the region.