CYIL 2014

309

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE RULE OF LAW EFFORTS IN POSTǧDAYTON…

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE RULE

OF LAW EFFORTS IN POST-DAYTON

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Kateřina Uhlířová

Abstract:

Bosnia andHerzegovina (BiH) went through the worst conflict in Europe

since the Second World War. BiH therefore ended on ‘the long list’ of countries in

post-conflict situations that need to rebuild the rule of law. While it is true that

the responsibility for re-establishment of the rule of law rests primarily with the

local population and should ideally be initiated or led by domestic actors in order

to secure a ‘local ownership’ of the process, this option is not always available, and

external assistance may be needed. In the circumstances of BiH, the international

community played a significant role by, inter alia, introducing various international

components (including institutions, personnel, and new legislation incorporating

international law) in order to actuate the rule of law.

This paper briefly examines how successful such rule of law efforts were that were

not rooted in the local context but rather imposed from outside. The rule of law is a

complex system which strives to achieve various goals. The focus of this paper is on

two such goals: upholding human rights and providing efficient and impartial justice

for the victims of an armed conflict. Due to the importance of the role of international

law in achieving these goals, the paper discusses the process of empowering domestic

institutions to apply international law, with special focus on the establishment of

the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of BiH (WCC). WCC deals with atrocities

committed during the 1992-1995 armed conflict and has a close relationship with the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Resumé:

Na území Bosny a Hercegoviny (BiH) se odehrál jeden z nejhorších kon-

fliktů v Evropě od konce druhé světové války. Mezi klíčovou prioritu, tak jako

v jiných postkonfliktních zemích, tudíž patří znovuobnovení vlády práva. Odpo-

vědnost za znovunastolení vlády práva by měla ležet primárně na místní populaci

a v ideálním případě by měly být tyto snahy iniciovány vnitřními aktéry (srov. např.

proces postkonfliktní rekonstrukce v Jižní Africe). Z mnoha důvodů to ovšem často

není možné a dochází k zásahu či asistenci ze strany vnějších aktérů. V případě BiH

sehrálo mezinárodní společenství významnou úlohu, mimo jiné se podílelo na per-

A longer version of the paper appears in K. Uhlířová, War Crimes Chamber of the Court of

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Seeding “International Standards of Justice”? In E. Kristjánsdóttir, A.

Nollkaemper, C. Ryngaert, (eds.),

International Law in Domestic Courts: Rule of Law Reform in Post-

Conflict States

(Cambridge-Antwerp-Portland: Intersentia, 2012). I would like to thank the editors

of the book as well as the members of the COST Working Group on the International Rule of Law

in Domestic Courts for their helpful comments. I also wish to thank Prof. Pavel Šturma and other

members of the Czech Society of International Law (CSIL) for sharing their experiences and valuable

insights during the guest lecture organized by the CSIL.