Bosnia-Herzegovina // Position and role of court bailiffs discussed in Banja Luka

For the first time ever, the position and role of court bailiffs in Bosnia & Herzegovina was discussed during a national conference held on 28 September 2010 in Hotel Bosna in Banja Luka. Since 2008, a working group on enforcement under the auspices of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council (HJPC) of Bosnia & Herzegovina has been developing proposals aimed at making enforcement proceedings in Bosnia & Herzegovina more effective and efficient. The working group has also developed some recommendations for strengthening the role and status of court bailiffs in Bosnia & Herzegovina. These recommendations are partly based on Recommendation 17 (2003) (on enforcement) of the Council of Europe’s Council of Ministers and the 2009 Recommendations for a Better Implementation of Recommendation 17 (2003). Over 140 representatives (often (assistant-)-ministers) of cantonal-level, entity-level and state-level Ministries of Justice, various court presidents, experienced bailiffs, the directors of the Judicial Training Centres and high-level representatives of the HJPC discussed these recommendations and at the end of the day agreed on a number of conclusions. The HJPC and BERP facilitated the conference. The conference was opened by Mr Milorad Novković, (President of the HJPC), Mrs Milana Popadić (Assistant Minister of Justice at the State Ministry of Justice), BERP Director Mr Eric Vincken, Mr Hidajet Halilović (Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Justice of the Federation) and Mr Nikola Kovačević (Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Justice of Republika Srpska). Besides a discussion on the various proposals of the working group, various court presidents and court bailiffs also shared best practices from the field. For BERP, which had suggested this on a number of occasions, it was encouraging to hear that Mr Mujo Dulandić, the chief court bailiff at the Sarajevo Municipal Court (the largest court in Bosnia & Herzegovina in terms of case load), had informed the audience that at the beginning of October he would register a professional association of court bailiffs, which will be open to all court bailiffs in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Let us hope that both the outcomes of the conference as well as the new association will contribute to strengthening the profession of court bailiffs in all parts of Bosnia & Herzegovina.