PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA'S JUDICIARY IN THE LIGHT OF THE PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVENESS

Abstract

Overall judicial reforms in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2002 and 2004 resulted in two
judicial and prosecutorial training centres (one in Federation of BiH and other in Republika
Srpska) established in 2003 with the major objective of improving the professionalism of the
judicial office holders through ongoing (initial and specialised) professional training. However,
despite the harmonised performance of the training centres and professional training being a
work requirement on which the professional performance of the judicial holders is assessed,
there are sound critiques of the BiH judiciary related to the absence of implementation of the
principle of effectiveness. Our paper aims to provide a critical assessment of the „improving
professionalism" objective concerning the impact of the training centres in the last five years
on one side and the principle of effectiveness on the other. The Paper will focus on the trends
in the programme-making of the training centres that are aimed to raise the level of effectiveness
and thus the professionalism of the judicial office holders, especially programmes organised in
cooperation with universities and NGO's, focused on the issues that go beyond pure formalism
and textual positivism. The Paper will also present and comment on empirical findings related
to the importance of professional training for career advancements of judicial office holders,
the judicial community in BiH trust in the training centres and feedbacks of the judicial office
holders who underwent selected programmes designed to improve the effectiveness of the
judiciary in BiH.