THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR MET WITH THE DELEGATION OF THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA

The central topics of the meeting pertained to the exchange of experience concerning the fight against organized crime and corruption. 

Mr. Goran Salihović, the Chief Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH,  Mr. Božo Mihajlović, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor, and Ms. Ismeta Huremović, the Secretary of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, met with the delegation of Prosecutors from the Republic of Albania headed by Mr. Adriatik Llalla, the Chief Prosecutor.

The aim of the visit of the Prosecutors from Albania was to get acquainted with the judicial system of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the capacities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, particularly in the segment of fight against organized crime and corruption, since the Republic of Albania, just like other countries in the Balkans, has been facing similar forms of organized crime.

The colleagues from Albania heard presentations regarding the history of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH for the past ten years of its existence, its internal organization, structure of its individual Departments and plans for future strengthening of capacities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH.

“In 2013, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH issued Indictments against 469 persons, which is the largest annual number of indicted persons since the establishment of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH”- noted Salihović, the Chief Prosecutor.

Prosecutors from Albania expressed their interest in the work of the capacities of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH employed in prosecuting criminal offenses of organized crime and corruption and in handling international cooperation between the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and judicial institutions in the region, in Europe and in the world. 

The Chief Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla informed the representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH of the prosecutorial capacities for organized crime prosecution in the Republic of Albania, in view of the fact that the Republic of Albania has a special Prosecutor’s Office for prosecution of organized and international crime.

Given the fact that, in the few recent years, several persons were detected and prosecuted for international smuggling of the Skunk Marijuana narcotic drug from the territory of Albania and across Montenegro to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the attendees discussed mutual cooperation in combating international smuggling of narcotic drugs and international cooperation in fighting other forms of crime.

At this meeting, signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Albania was initiated,  for the purpose of a more efficient cooperation in the fight against organized and international crime.

Moreover, the need for an intensified institutional use of the already signed Protocols and Agreements in the judicial segment between the Republic of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina was emphasized.

Since its establishment, the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH has been conducting intensive activities aimed at establishing cooperation and contacts between judicial institutions at the international level, since international cooperation represents one of the key elements in combating transnational forms of crime.