Joint Programme

Horizontal Facility

Within the framework of the Action “Strengthening the Efficiency and Quality of Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiHSEJ)”, a series of meetings was conducted on 27 and 28 April 2026 in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Brčko District to assess the current use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms in the judiciary.

Representatives of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Ministry of Justice of BiH, the Bar Association of the Federation of BiH, the Association of Mediators of BiH, as well as judges from the Basic Court in Brčko gathered to identify practical obstacles to the wider use of mediation, as well as to discuss opportunities for further development.

The CEPEJ support was already provided to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH for the promotion of the national Strategy for Alternative Dispute Resolution. These meetings represented a new opportunity to promote relevant CEPEJ tools and methodologies in the field of mediation, including mediation development toolkit, court referral mechanisms and quality standards.

The findings from these exchanges will serve as a basis to prepare targeted recommendations aimed at strengthening the referrals to mediation and ADR in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contributing to improved efficiency and enhanced access to justice.

This activity was organised by the CEPEJ action “HFIII: HF 4 - Strengthening the Efficiency and Quality of Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiHSEJ)”, which is part of the joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye III", co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.