Bosnia and Herzegovina

Law on Protection of Witnesses under Threat and Vulnerable Witnesses

CHAPTER II
WITNESS PROTECTION MEASURES

Article 19
Hearing

(1) A witness protection hearing is conducted by the Court in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the hearing of witnesses, unless otherwise stipulated by this Law.

(2) The witness shall be informed that

a) he will be heard as a protected witness;
b) his identity shall not be revealed to any person other than the members of the Court and the minute taker of the Court;
c) if designated as a protected witness he shall not appear in person before the Court at any hearing other than the witness protection hearing; and
d) he can not be compelled to answer questions that would indicate his identity or the identity of the members of his family.

(3) The Court shall hear a witness in detail on the circumstances suggested by the party making the motion and on all other circumstances the Panel considers necessary.


Article 20
Record

(1) The record of the witness protection hearing shall not contain information relating to the identity of the protected witness.

(2) The record shall employ a pseudonym for the witness, as determined by the Court, which shall be used during the criminal proceedings and in the decisions of the Court.

(3) The members of the Court and the minute taker of the Court shall sign the record of the witness protection hearing.

(4) The Court shall ensure the confidentiality of the record by:

a) keeping the record separate from all other documentation of the criminal case in a secure place;
b) returning the record to the secure place after its use at the appropriate hearing in the criminal procedure and when the decision has become final; and
c) providing for long-term archiving of the record in a manner that limits access to the document only to the President of the Criminal Division for such period as may be determined to be necessary, but in any event not exceeding thirty years, following upon the day the decision became final.

Keywords

National judicial procedures protecting witnesses from identification – witness protection



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