One of the main prerequisites for the peace and coexistence of peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its European and global integration, is identification, detection and transfer to relevant judicial authorities of all individuals involved in the violation of international conventions, declarations, agreements and laws governing the area of war crimes.
The Sector for Investigation of War Crimes and Crimes Punishable under International Humanitarian Laws detects and investigates war crimes and crimes punishable under the international humanitarian laws within the competence of the Court B&H, collects information and data about these crimes, analyses reports and information about suspects, indicted individuals and crimes, evaluates and analyses intelligence. Moreover, it provides support to the court and prosecutor’s office in the protection of information and executes orders of the court and prosecutor's office, establishes internal and external cooperation with domestic and international authorities and institutions with the aim of performing duties under its competence, particularly with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on investigation and criminal prosecution of individuals indicted for serious violation of international humanitarian laws pursuant to Article 29 of the Statute and Article 39 of the ICTY Rules of Procedure. The Sector carries out requests for assistance or orders issued by the Council of the Court, including, but not limiting to identification and location of people, taking statements of witnesses and presentation of evidence, delivery of documents, arrest and detention of individuals, transfer of the accused to the International Tribunal. Moreover, the Sector cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal in investigation and criminal prosecution of individuals pursuant to Articles 86 to 102 of the Section 9 of the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal and carries out requests for all types of assistance under Article 93 Paragraph (1) Items a) to k), performs other tasks in accordance with the law.
Internal Organisational Units
- Investigation Section
- Intelligence Analytical Section
The investigators of the Investigation Section, specially trained to conduct war crime investigations in cooperation with the Intelligence Analytical Section, have particularly contributed to the successful work and results. Timely and adequate coordination between these two Sections is a foundation for better results and general improvement of work of this organisational unit. A number of specialised trainings organised by SIPA's international partners and recent trainings organised and delivered by SIPA's own human resources represent an added value.