Since the Department of Criminal Defense was transitioned into the structures of the Ministry of Justice of BiH on July 1, 2009, there have been changes to the “Additional Rules” adopted at the General Session of the Court of BiH on June 30, 2005. These rules applied to cases initiated after July 7, 2005, before Section I for War Crimes and Section II for Organized Crime.
These rules have been repealed, and the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on Article 12, Paragraph 2, Point (a) and Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the Law on the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Consolidated Text (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 49/09, 74/09 and 97/09), and in accordance with Article 46, Paragraph 3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of BiH (“Official Gazette of BiH”, No. 82/05, November 28, 2005), at the General Session held on June 8, 2011, adopted the Rules of Procedure on Amendments and Supplements to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of BiH.
You can download the Additional Rules and the new Rules of Procedure at the bottom of this page.
Article 41.b of the Rules of Procedure requires that candidates must be current and valid members of one of the bar associations and must have at least 7 years of relevant work experience in legal matters as a lawyer, judge, or prosecutor to be appointed as a defense counsel
In accordance with Article 12, Paragraph 3 of the Law on the Court of BiH, the Court is allowed to determine the necessary conditions for lawyers practicing before the Court. Article 71.c of the Rules of Procedure states that candidates must have knowledge and expertise in relevant areas of law in accordance with the criteria published by OKO. The knowledge criteria can be met through experience or participation in alternative trainings.
New Criminal Legislation in BiH
Completed 1 criminal trial before the Court of BiH as a lawyer, or
Completed 2 trials for serious criminal offenses before lower courts as a lawyer applying the provisions of the new Criminal Code/Criminal Procedure Code, or
Completed a training course approved by OKO.
Seminar organized by OKO
Law Regulating the Field of War Crimes
(necessary only for lawyers who wish to handle war crimes cases)
Completed 1 trial for war crimes before Section I of the Court of BiH, or
Completed 2 trials for war crimes before any domestic court, or
Significant participation in defense work during the main trial phase before the ICTY, or
Postgraduate studies in international humanitarian law, or
Completed training course in international humanitarian law approved by OKO.
Seminar organized by OKO
Details about seminars organized by OKO can be found on the subpage titled “Training”.
These criteria apply to application forms submitted to OKO before December 31, 2024.
The criteria for continuous professional development in 2024 amount to 8 hours. During 2024, continuous professional development is mandatory only for defense counsels before Section I.
In accordance with Article 41.b, Point 3 of the Rules of Procedure, lawyers who wish to apply to be included on the list of authorized lawyers must complete the “OKO Application Form”. The form is available below.
The Law on the Court of BiH stipulates that a “special admission” of lawyers can be made in cases where they do not meet the regular criteria for practicing before the Court. There are two advantages of this legal provision before the Court of BiH: judges will be able to allow the special admission of lawyers from BiH who are not on the list of authorized lawyers when it is in the interest of justice, and they will be able to approve the special admission of foreign lawyers when their expertise is required to satisfy the right to a fair trial.
The criteria for “special admission” are described in Article 41.c of the Rules of Procedure. The first criterion allows for the admission of experts in the field of war crimes and human rights law, who could present and argue specific issues before the court. The law in BiH does not allow “amicus curiae” (friend of the court) to assist the court in complex areas of law, and this form of special admission would address that problem.
The second criterion deals with cases transferred from the ICTY in accordance with Rule 11 bis. The rule implies that the Court should allow the special admission of lawyers in cases where a foreign lawyer has already prepared the case, and any other lawyer would not have “sufficient time to prepare the defense” within the meaning of Article 6(3)(b) of the European Convention on Human Rights.