Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the process of judicial reform that leads to building the rule of law and ensures that its citizens can exercise guaranteed human rights and fundamental  freedoms by having more efficient and better performing judicial institutions.

Better court performance is one of the basic objectives of the Improving Judicial Quality Project that the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina is implementing with the financial support of the Government of Norway and in cooperation with the Norwegian Courts Administration and the Council for the Judiciary of the Netherlands.  

Through previous project activities, new work methods have been developed in the courts,  which directly contribute  to improved  quality of the courts, and ultimately improving the satisfaction of citizens.

The application of new work methods and tools originally started in courts in Sarajevo and Banja Luka and after the results that can be further applied and sustained have been achieved, their use was expanded to  eighteen more courts across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The preparation of a number of documents developed within the framework of the Project that will contribute to more efficient   litigation proceedings and more  intense cooperation between first-instance and second-instance courts is considered a particularly significant result , which leads towards  establishing a system that will ultimately provide better legal protection and legal certainty for the citizens. 

Visits to the Municipal Court and Cantonal Court in Mostar, the Municipal Court in Siroki Brijeg and the Basic Court and District Court in Trebinje have been organised within this project activity.. During these visits, current results and their sustainability have been presented. The judges and court employees have been presented with positive examples of judicial institutions that had participated in previous project activities and made significant progress in their work in strengthening procedural discipline, harmonising case law and enhancing responsibility for collective performance of the institution.

In the forthcoming period, these courts will be actively involved in the implementation of the activities within the HJPC BiH Project.

During the visits and meetings, the judges pointed out the efficiency of the litigation proceedings as the greatest challenge, but they believe that exactly by applying the practices they acquired through the implementation of the Improving Judicial Quality Project significant improvements would be made. They also showed willingness to implement all activities aimed at improving efficiency and quality and strengthening legal certainty in the context of harmonisation of  court practices.

All the upcoming activities will be aimed  at establishing conditions for more efficient work of employees in these judicial institutions and strengthening  trust in their work.