Back Strengthening mediation to make dispute resolution more effective in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Vlašić, Bosnia and Herzegovina 18 September 2026
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Strengthening mediation to make dispute resolution more effective in Bosnia and Herzegovina

How can mediation become more effective in Bosnia and Herzegovina? This was a key focus of discussions at a two-day workshop organised on 17 and 18 September 2026 in Vlašić, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The workshop followed an observation visit conducted on 27 and 28 April in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and the Brčko District. The visit provided an opportunity to look at the functioning of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods and identify obstacles to their effective use.

Building on these observations, participants discussed the challenges affecting the effective functioning of mediation and explored possible ways forward. The second day was focused on developing a common approach to enhancing the effectiveness of mediation, based on the CEPEJ’s tools on mediation, in particular the European Handbook for Mediation Lawmaking. Discussions also focused on possible improvements to inter-institutional co-ordination in the field of mediation.

This activity was organised by the CEPEJ action “Strengthening the Efficiency and Quality of Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiHSEJ)”, which is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.

Work in this thematic area focuses on prisons and police (including human rights in policing, healthcare in prisons and safeguards against torture and ill-treatment), human rights standards in the judiciary (focusing on enhancing the application of case-law of the European Court of Human Rights), migration issues, the efficiency of justice systems (with a focus on analysing judicial statistics to optimise court administrations) and/or legal co-operation (which concentrates on increasing the individual independence of judges and prosecutors and the accountability of the judicial system).

Actions under theme I: Strengthening justice

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.