High Representative Carlos Westendorp has decided to impose the “Law on the Courts of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton” and the “Law on the Court of the Central Zone of the City of Mostar.” The two laws went into effect yesterday.
The High Representative’s move came as a reaction to the failure of the Herzegovina-Neretva authorities to implement his “Decision on the Establishment of Municipal Courts in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton” of May 6, 1998.
The Law on the Courts recognises the right to a court of each municipality in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, including the six Mostar municipalities. The ethnic composition of the judges at each court shall reflect the results of the 1991 census in the municipalities or the territory that newly-created municipalities cover, respectively.
The national structure of the senior judicial staff at the Central Zone Court shall reflect the overall national structure of the population in the entire City of Mostar based on the 1991 census.
The High Representative welcomes the fact that Mostar has now a court system. He has asked the authorities to fully implement the laws by November 15 latest. The High Representative also stressed the need to recruit people for the new jobs across the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.