Background
Norway has together with other international donors continuously supported the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the end of the war in 1995.
The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC) was formed in 2004, as one of the very few State institutions back then with a mandate that covers the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina. Norwegian support to the judiciary has since 2004 been carried out primarily by way of cooperation with HJPC.
The total Norwegian support to the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented through the HJPC has been approximately 20 000 000 Euro.
Judicial Capacity Building Project (June 2022 to May 2025)
The expected societal impact of the project is a) strengthening the role of the HJPC as guarantor of independence and accountability of the BiH judiciary and better court performance.
The expected outcomes are a) improved process of court budget preparation, including reasoning and advocation of budget funds, b) higher level of capital investments, c) optimal determination of need for human resources in courts, d) strengthening the HJPC as guarantor of independence and accountability through application of ENCJ standards, e) improved performance in criminal case departments in courts and continued support to better functionality in civil case departments and f) reduction of the average duration of cases and increased the number of resolved cases in the pilot courts.
The planned main outputs are a) developed electronic database for court budget preparations, b) standardized criteria for capital investment planning, c) defined priorities for improved mechanisms of appointment and promotion of judges and prosecutors, d) defined priorities and plan of activities for strengthening the managerial capacities of the HJPC, e) support to implementation of Communication strategy, f) increased procedural discipline in criminal cases and g) development of a proposal for new normative framework defining timeframes for processing cases.
Project: 22/914 Judicial Capacity Building Project ( JCB)
Partners: High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( HJPC) and Norwegian Courts Administration (NCA)
Donor: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( NMFA)
Duration of project: June 2022 to May 2025
Budget:14 910 000 NOK