almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

this research, these departments adhere to legally prescribed procedures, adequately
process appeals from citizens and security sector employees, and administer punishment
under legally assigned processes.
Analysis of the data, however, reveals discrepancies. There are very few appeals, compared
to the number one would expect based on the number of citizens and employees.
This either suggests individuals are not sufficiently aware of their right to appeal,
or difficult relations exist between the designated departments for claims during the
appeals overview. Although all necessary laws and regulations have been adopted,
and all proscribed departments have been established, there is a need to increase
the administrative capacities of internal oversight departments. Their performance is
affected by lack of office space, along with the fact that certain organisational parts
of the department, such as the Sector for Material-Financial Dealings, are not located
within the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (Ministry of Interior Affairs, written correspondence, 15 November, 2010).
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3.3. Judicial control
The role of the judiciary in control and oversight of the use of force and special investigative
measures is important to ensure basic respect for human rights. As explained
above, the police must go through the Prosecutor’s Office to request court approval before
launching special investigative measures. These measures can be used in instances
where it would not be possible to obtain evidence in any other way, or when the acquisition
of evidence by other means would pose significant obstacles. These measures
are often used in cases which involve charges of: crimes against the integrity of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, crimes against humanity and values protected by international
law, acts of terrorism and crimes where the perpetrator can be charged with three or
more years of penalty (Criminal Procedure Code, Art.116-117). The Intelligence-Security
Agency Bosnia and Herzegovina can make requests directly to the courts. Evidence collected
by the agency without prior court permission must be destroyed immediately.
Furthermore, the director is required to notify the president of the board of the agency
and the head inspector, and ensure a procedure against the individual or persons who
violated the law (Law on Intelligence-Security Agency, Art.79).
Past experience shows people who are being investigated are not always informed of
the objective and the results of the investigation, as required by the Law on Criminal
Procedure and the Law on Intelligence-Security Agency. Our analysis finds little evidence
that this part of the legal regulation is being fully implemented, nor that it is
implemented as intended by the law. Moreover, no register is available which could
collectively show the approvals for the implementation of the special investigative
measures neither from the courts nor from the prosecutors. Thus, this information is
unavailable to the public. In response to our inquiries, security institutions were unwilling
to divulge this information.