Bosnien und Herzegowina - Zentrale Behörde (Art. 2)

Central Authority(ies):

the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Contact details:
Address: Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trg Bosne i Hercegovine 1
71000 SARAJEVO
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Telephone: +387 (33) 281 560
Fax: +387 (33) 201 653
E-mail: selma.music@mpr.gov.ba
General website: http://www.mpr.gov.ba/
Contact person: Mrs Selma Music
Languages spoken by staff: English

Practical Information
(The following information was provided by the relevant State authorities or was obtained from the replies to the Evidence Convention Questionnaires)
Blocking statutes: No blocking statutes.
Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
 
Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request (Art. 7): Judicial authority competent to execute the request.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): No declaration.
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution (Art. 11): No declaration.
Translation requirements (Arts 4(2) and 33):  No declaration.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request (Arts 14(2)(3) and 26): Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks reimbursement of costs under Art. 14(2).

There are no constitutional limitations with regard to the reimbursement of fees and costs, in connection with the execution of Letters of Request, for the service of process necessary to compel the appearance of a person to give evidence, the costs of attendance of such persons, and the costs of any transcript of the evidence (Art. 26).

Time for execution: No information available.
Art 23 pre-trial discovery of documents: No declaration.
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence: 

Civile Procedure Code of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Civile Procedure Code of Republika Srpska
Civile Procedure Code of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina

All available in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian language.

Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? There is no legal provision that requires specific questions to be included in the Letter of Request.
Is it a public or private hearing? Public hearing. Unless, it would endanger State, business or personal secret, interests of the minors, morality or an interest of the public order.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? No information available.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? No.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? No.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? Yes, but a second Request is necessary.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? According to Article 410 of the Civil Procedure Code of Federation of B&H, Civil Procedure Code of Republika Srpska and Article 183 of the Civil Procedure Code of Brcko District of B&H : If a witness summoned to appear in court fails to appear without a reasonable excuse, or if he removes himself from the place where he should be questioned, without the court authorization, the court shall force him to appear and impose a fine thereon.
If a witness refuses to testify without reasonable excuse, the court shall impose a fine thereon.
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Yes.
How is the testimony transcribed? The testimony is transcribed to the Minutes of the Main court session.
Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable.
Articles 16 Applicable.
Articles 17 Applicable.
Articles 18 No declaration of applicability.
Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)
 
Chapter I
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links?  
Technology used:  
Level of interpretation required:  
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation:  
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction?  
Who pays for the interpretation?  
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing?  
Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links?  
Technology used:  
Level of interpretation required:  
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation:  
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction?  
Who pays for the interpretation?  
Bilateral or multilateral agreements  
Useful links:  

(This page was last updated on 25 July 2014)

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