On 19 March 2021 the AIRE Centre and the Sarajevo Media Centre, with the support of the UK government, will present their reports entitled “Judicial Transparency during the Pandemic: Public and Media Outreach in Bosnia and Herzegovina” and “Media Coverage of the Cases and the Work of the Judiciary during the Pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the regular work and functions of all BiH judicial institutions. The report on judicial transparency and outreach during the pandemic, produced by the Sarajevo Media Centre, pays specific attention to the period between March and May 2020. This report sets out how judicial institutions and their outreach practices were affected by the pandemic. The report also sets out a series of recommendations for BiH judicial institutions to adopt in order to improve transparency and future outreach practices.

In the second report, on media coverage of the judiciary, the Sarajevo Media Centre presents the results of research aimed at explaining the way in which the media reported on specific cases, selected for their receiving media coverage and/or their public relevance, and on the general work of the judiciary during the Covid-19 pandemic. The report focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of the media attention for specific cases and for the work of judiciary in BiH, and the potential implications for and impact on the public perception of the country’s judiciary. Finally, the report also contains recommendations for the media on their coverage of court cases and of the work of judicial institutions in general.

The first report, “Judicial Transparency during the Pandemic: Public and Media Outreach in Bosnia and Herzegovina” may be found in English here and BCMS here.

The second report, “Media Coverage of the Cases and the Work of the Judiciary during the Pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina” may be found in English here and BCMS here.