President of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano, visited the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Judge of the European Court of Human Rights elected on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina Faris Vehabović and Anna Austin, Jurisconsult, visited the Constitutional Court of BiH together with President Spano.
President Spano and the delegation of the European Court of Human Rights were first received by the President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mato Tadić, who pointed out the historical significance of this visit for Constitutional BiH and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
President Tadić stated that this was the first time that the President of the European Court of Human Rights was visiting the Constitutional Court of BiH and Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, President Spano met with all judges of the BiH Constitutional Court.
President Tadić and judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH presented to President Spano the facts about the constitutional position, organization and functioning of the Constitutional Court of BiH, appellate and abstract jurisdiction, as well as relevant statistics on the work of the Constitutional Court. The present also referred to the place and role of the Constitutional Court of BiH in the constitutional structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the importance of decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH in the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the importance of their implementation. A very good and successful cooperation of the Constitutional Court of BiH with the European Court of Human Rights has been emphasized.
President Spano especially praised the work of the Constitutional Court, which in its daily work monitors and applies the case law and standards of the European Court in the segment of protection of human rights and freedoms. At the same time, President Tadić and judges of the Constitutional Court of BiH pointed out the need for training of lawyers of the Constitutional Court in the European Court, as well as the engagement of experts from the European Court in order to bring the work on cases in the Constitutional Court of BiH as close as possible to that of the European Court.
Also, President Spano and Judge Vehabović pointed to the cases from Bosnia and Herzegovina that are pending before the European Court of Human Rights. This is a very small number of cases in comparison to other countries, as well as a very small number of cases in which violations of human rights and freedoms have been found.
President Spano expressed his gratitude for the reception, exchange of opinions and information he received from President Tadić and judges of the BiH Constitutional Court during the visit. He emphasized the importance of the role of the Constitutional Court of BiH in the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially in the segment of protection of human rights and the rule of law, and wished the Constitutional Court a successful continuation of its work.
