Godina VI -Broj 35 Srijeda 4



Year VI – No. 35 Wednesday 4 December 2002

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THE COURT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Pursuant to Article 22, Item 2b, of the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette BiH, no. 29/00) and Item 4 of the Decision on the Appointment of Judges and the Establishment of the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (Official Gazette BiH, no. 10/02), the court of BiH, at the plenary session held on 20 June 2002, adopted

BOOK OF RULES

ON THE WORK OF THE COURT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

PART ONE

I – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

This Book of Rules sets forth the rules which the Plenum and The court of BiH Divisions (hereinafter: the court) shall abide by when discussing and deciding on issues under their jurisdiction as defined by the Law, as well as the procedures before the Criminal, Administrative and Appellate Divisions, insofar as they have not been regulated by the Law.

Article 2

Provisions laid down in this Book of Rules shall also define the bases of the internal operations organization, so that the court may exercise its function in a legal, timely and efficient manner.

Article 3

The Book of Rules and its amendments shall be issued by the Plenum by a majority vote.

II – THE PLENUM

Article 4

The Plenum shall consist of the President and all judges of the court.

It is the right and duty of each judge of the court to take part in the Plenum’s work.

Article 5

The court President shall prepare, convene and preside over the Plenum’s work.

In the absence of the court President, the Plenum shall be convened and presided over by a judge substituting for the court President.

The Plenum shall be mandatorily convened when so requested by a Division or at least five judges.

Article 6

The Plenum may convene only if at least two thirds of the judges are present, while decisions shall be made by a majority vote of all judges of the court.

Article 7

The Plenum agenda shall be proposed by the court President, and approved by the Plenum.

Draft agenda may include issues submitted after the Plenum has been convened, providing they are of significance for the court’s work, and require no prior preparation.

Article 8

After the agenda has been adopted, the Plenum shall discuss issues in the order presented on the agenda, by having the rapporteur or the plenum chairman lay out prior to the debate the legal issues of relevance for the debate and the decision-making.

Following the rapporteur’s report, the floor shall be given to the judges in the order they applied, providing that those who wish to talk about breaches of the Book of Rules, or correct a statement that in their opinion has been wrongly interpreted, and has caused a misunderstanding, are entitled to take the floor as soon as they apply.

Article 9

The Chief Registrar of the court and his deputies, as well as registrars of Divisions, may participate in debates without the right to participate in decision-making.

Article 10

The voting procedure shall be public, and shall be carried out by hand-raising.

If several proposals have been put forward for resolving an issue, the voting shall take place in the order in which the proposals were submitted, while the rapporteur’s proposal shall be considered as the first one.

Upon the completion of voting, the chairman shall announce the voting results.

Article 11

A judge cannot abstain from voting, and if he should disagree with the decision made, he may have a dissenting opinion which shall then be attached to the minutes, on condition he has provided a written explanation within two days.

The dissenting opinion shall be enclosed with the decision as an annex. In case the decision is published, the dissenting opinion shall be published as well.

Article 12

Minutes shall be taken of the Plenum’s work.

Minutes shall be taken by the Chief Registrar or his deputy.

Minutes shall contain basic data about the Plenum’s work, proposals submitted, and the conclusions made.

Minutes shall be verified by the chairman.

Article 13

A copy of the minutes shall be forwarded to the heads of Divisions.

Possible remarks and comments on the minutes shall be discussed at the following Plenum.

If the remarks are approved, the minutes shall be amended accordingly.

Article 14

In case a certain legal position or opinion is taken on a legal issue by one of the judges of the court, the Plenum shall set out its formulation.

The court shall issue legal positions or opinions separately.

Article 15

For the purpose of changing a legal position or opinion, it is necessary to submit a reasoned request listing the reasons for the change of the previous legal position or opinion.

Article 16

Besides the responsibilities set forth by the Law on the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Plenum shall also adopt general acts related to the rights and obligations of The court employees, as well as other general acts related to the court functioning.

III – THE COURT DIVISIONS

Article 17

The court shall have Criminal, Administrative and Appellate Divisions, while the number of judges in Divisions shall be set forth by the law.

Judges from other Divisions may sit in particular Divisions, according to the court President’s schedule.

Divisions shall elect heads of divisions who shall also serve as panel presidents of those divisions.

A head of division may designate a judge who shall preside over that division panel.

Article 18

Having received a casefile in the first instance, following a review the judge shall take the case and classify it according to the degree of urgency.

The judge is obliged to take without delay the cases which the Law requires to be dealt with in an expedited procedure.

Article 19

The judge shall schedule trial hearings by issuing an order, after which the casefile shall be returned to the registry officer for registration in the registry book and further action upon the order.

Article 20

Ongoing casefiles shall as a rule be kept in the calendar of hearings.

Ongoing casefiles shall be put in the calendar of hearings in appropriate binders according to the dates of hearings or records.

Article 21

Upon the case reception, regarding legal remedies, one shall form a casefile with the adequate The court registry book marking.

Article 22

Upon the completed procedure, the court shall return the case to the competent the court in regard to which it has made its decision, or the state body of BiH if it was deciding on the legality of final administrative acts, with the necessary number of copies of the decision for the parties and the court, or the state body.

When deciding in a panel in the presence of the parties, in the event of a remand, besides the copies of its own decision, the court shall also send out a copy of the minutes of the panel session, or the transcripts of the main trial if held.

Article 23

When an appeal or a complaint has been filed due to a violation of a subjective electoral right, the court shall not be deciding on the legality of the final act.

Article 24

If the Head of Division believes that certain panel decisions are not in conformity with the interpretation of the relevant legal provision, he shall inform the court President.

The court President may decide to hold the sending out of a decision copy until the issue has been discussed at a Division plenum.

In case the Division’s position is contrary to that of the panel, the panel is obliged to revisit the issue.

Article 25

Provisions relating to the convening and operation of a division plenum, voting and taking minutes, shall be included in the Rules of Procedure on the work of the Division.

IV – THE COURT PRESIDENT

Article 26

The Court President shall organize the work of the court and coordinate cooperation with other institutions.

Article 27

Apart from his responsibilities set forth in Article 21 of the Law on the court of BiH, and Article 26 of this Book of Rules, the court President shall issue individual acts related to the rights and obligations of The court employees, as well as other individual acts related to the functioning of the court, plus other tasks envisioned by this Book of Rules and other general acts of the court.

Article 28

In case of the court President’s absence, he shall be substituted by a deputy he has delegated himself, with all powers and responsibilities enjoyed by the court President.

V - ATTORNEYS

Article 29

Besides attorneys, who must fulfill the requirements set forth in Article 12, Item 1, of the Law on the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the court may allow an attorney to act before the court even if he does not fulfill the requirements laid down in this paragraph, in the following cases:

in first-instance proceedings, to a law firm trainee in case he substitutes for an attorney and if the proceedings relate to a criminal act punishable by the Law with up to five years of imprisonment, and with a bar exam also for the crimes which are punishable with an imprisonment sentence exceeding five years;

in administrative proceedings, to each person who has full legal capacity, except for the persons involved in quackery, and

in appellate proceedings, including electoral appeals, except in criminal cases where only an attorney at law may act as an attorney.

Article 30

A party shall give the power of attorney in writing or orally to be recorded in The court transcripts.

The extent of the power of attorney shall be set by the party.

The party may authorize the attorney to take certain actions only, or to take all actions in the proceedings.

Article 31

If the court assesses that an attorney who is not an attorney at law is not capable of performing his duties, it shall point out to the party at the detrimental consequences which the malpractice may cause.

Article 32

If the defense counsel or the attorney impedes the proceedings before the court, the panel president shall issue a warning to them, which shall be entered into the court transcripts and published. Should the warning go unheeded, the panel may order that they be removed from the court, and fined with up to 500 KM.

The removal and the fine may be cumulative, noting that any fine shall automatically be followed by a removal.

Article 33

In case the defense counsel or the attorney continues to violate the order even after the sentence has been pronounced, he may be denied further defense, or representation, while the party shall be given a time-frame to hire another defense counsel or attorney.

The decision to deny representation shall be entered into the court transcripts with a short explanation, while no special appeal is allowed against the decision.

Article 34

The competent Bar Association shall be informed about the sanctions under the previous article in relation to the attorney at law, for the purpose of taking necessary measures in terms of Article 12, Item 5, of the Law on the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

VI – INTERNAL ORGANIZATION

Article 35

Duties and tasks falling under the court’s scope of activities shall be carried out in organizational units, namely the following:

1. Common Registry of the court;

2. Organizational unit of judges;

3. Administrative Division.

Article 36

The Common Registry of the court shall consist of the Chief Registrar of the court and two deputies.

The Common Registry of the court, under supervision of the court President, shall be run by the Chief Registrar of the court with his two deputies.

The Chief Registrar of the court and his two deputies shall be elected by the court at the Plenum, based on a public vacancy announcement.

Article 37

The organizational unit of judges shall comprise The court Divisions, namely the Criminal Division, the Administrative Division and the Appellate Division.

Each the court division shall have a registry, and a registrar.

The division registrar shall be elected by the court Plenum based on a public vacancy announcement.

Article 38

The Administrative Division shall have two departments, namely

a) Department for legal, general, administrative, and technical support affairs;

b) Department for financial-material affairs.

The Common Registry shall supervise, assist and be responsible for the work of the Administrative Division.

Article 39

The court’s internal organization shall be regulated by the Book of Rules on internal organization, which includes the following:

internal organization and organizational units;

description of jobs in the internal organizational units and positions;

number of required employees, necessary expert qualification and other work skills, the employee’s title, as well as other requirements for the work in the said positions;

special rights and duties, or powers of employees in performing their tasks;

work management and coordination; and

other issues important for the organization and the work of the court.

Article 40

A work schedule is supposed to provide for the full-capacity employment of the court employees and a maximal use of their expertise and other work skills.

The basis for the work schedule for particular employees shall be set forth in the work program for the given year, laid down by the court President, based on the previously obtained opinion of the Plenum.

Article 41

The work schedule shall be presented to all judges and other employees of the court.

The work schedule must be duly and timely adopted, so that it can be in application as from 1 January of the following year.

VII – OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 42

The work of the court shall be public, while the public nature of proceedings shall be provided for by allowing the parties to the proceedings and other interested persons to attend trials and the court sessions which, based on this Book of Rules, shall not be closed to the public, by providing information on the course of the proceedings, by publishing of the decisions issued, and in any other way determined by the court.

Proceedings before the court shall not be public with regard to working sessions, including case deliberation and voting sessions.

Proceedings shall be closed to the public also when the court discusses and decides on the matters of a secret character in accordance with the Law, when so required by the reasons of the protection of moral, public order, state security, privacy rights and personal rights.

Closing the proceedings to the public, under the previous paragraph, shall not apply to the parties to the proceedings.

Article 43

The scope of duties and tasks at the court shall be set forth in the annual work plan (Article 21, Para 2, of the Law on the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina), adopted by the court Plenum.

The work plan shall be adopted at the beginning of each calendar year for the current year.

In case of new obligations for the court, the work plan shall be amended in the manner of its adoption.

Article 44

The court shall issue an official ID card to the President and all judges.

The form and the mode of issuing official ID cards shall be set forth by the court.

Article 45

The court President and the judges are obliged to wear the official robe at trials and public sessions.

The judges robe shall be of a black toga type.

PART TWO

VIII – PROVISIONS ON THE INTERNAL OPERATION OF THE COURT

1. The court administration

Article 46

The court administration duties particularly include the following:

providing the conditions for the work of the court;

organizing internal operations at the court;

making sure that duties and tasks at the court are carried out duly and timely;

performing duties regarding the exercise of rights and duties of employees at the Administrative Division;

organizing professional training and development of judges and other employees of the court;

keeping the court statistics;

financial-material operations and other duties defined by the law and provisions set forth in this Book of Rules.

2. The court interpreters and experts

Article 47

The court President shall, for the needs of the court, make a list of official the court interpreters based on the information obtained from the Sarajevo Cantonal The court, as well as from organizations and institutions taking care of deaf, mute and deaf-mute persons.

Article 48

The court shall keep a list of official the court experts for various areas of expertise in special proceedings.

The list of official the court experts shall be made based on the decision on the appointment of particular persons as official the court experts.

Pending the appointment of official the court experts by the court President, one shall use the experts from the list of official the court experts of the Sarajevo Cantonal The court.

IX – COMMUNICATION WITH PARTIES AND OTHER PERSONS

1. Orientation inside the court building

Article 49

A sign bearing the official name of the court, written in Latin script, Bosnian and Croat languages, and in Cyrillic script, Serb language, shall be placed on the building right by the entrance door.

Article 50

An orientation board shall be placed at a visible spot inside the court building, containing a display of work premises by types of duties performed therein, with a note including the name of judges or other employees performing those duties.

Article 51

A notice board, placed at a visible spot inside the court premises, shall be used for the announcement of the court notices and notifications, issued in accordance with the rules of procedure.

2. Communication with parties and other persons

Article 52

The reception of non-invited persons shall be carried out at a specific time period within the regular working hours.

The time of reception for persons referred to in the previous paragraph shall be set forth in the work schedule and posted on the court notice board, and also on the entrance door of the work premises used for the reception of parties and other persons.

Persons who have difficulties coming to the court again due to distance and other important reasons, may be received outside the time-slot set out for reception, upon a previous approval of the court President. The same procedure shall be applied also in other urgent and justified cases.

Article 53

An authorized employee of the court shall notify the parties and other authorized persons on the status of casefiles based on the registry book and casefile data. The notification shall be restricted to the necessary information about the status of the case, ruling out any discussion about the validity of particular the court actions and orders, as well as statements on probable outcomes of the court proceedings.

Article 54

Reviewing and copying casefiles shall be carried out at the court, in a specifically designated space and under supervision of a registry employee, at a time designated by the work schedule.

Records on the court debates and voting, draft the court decisions and the court notes shall, if possible, be previously set aside from the casefile.

Casefiles shall be forwarded to another the court for deliberation for a limited period of time, while the time-frame by which they should be returned shall be noted in the special records, so that the return of the casefile shall be requested upon the lapse of the particular time-limit.

X – THE COURT DECISIONS, MODE OF WRITING AND SIGNING

Originals and copies

Article 55

An original is considered to be a properly formulated decision of the court (verdict, decision, the court order, the court certificate etc.) signed by the judge, or panel president and the clerk (if so stipulated by the rules of procedure), or by the employee who has been tasked with performing a certain scope of activities in accordance with the work schedule.

The originals of decisions must be written using a typewriter (computer), ink pen or ball point, and shall as such remain in the files.

Article 56

As a rule, copies shall be written using a typewriter, and must be clear and legible, so that their content and form fully match the original.

If there is a possibility to use a form for certain types of work, copies may be made also by filling in that form.

Article 57

Copies shall include the typewritten name of the judge who signed the original decision, with a seal certifying the copy validity affixed below (seal no. 5), signed by the authorized employee of the court, affixing the court seal.

Article 58

In case the panel president or clerk has been prevented from signing a decision, or because of some other exceptional circumstances, the decision shall be signed by one of the panel members in lieu of the panel president, and instead of the clerk by another employee of the court designated by the court President. The same procedure shall be followed also in case when an issued decision has not been drafted, in which case the court President shall designate another judge to draft the decision.

XI – PROCEDURE WITH FILES DELIVERED TO THE COURT

1. Reception of papers

Article 59

All papers (petitions, letters, files etc.) delivered to the court via mail, or handed personally to the court by a party, shall be received by the employee of the court who has been designated to do so (the authorized employee).

Article 60

The reception of papers shall take place throughout the working hours.

Any mail arriving outside regular working hours shall be received and if necessary opened by the court employee on duty, in case duty shifts have been regulated. Urgent mail and telegrams arriving at the court after the regular working hours may be received by an employee designated to provide security in the building, but he is not allowed to open them. The security guard shall hand over all such mail to the employee on duty, or an employee of the court tasked with the mail reception.

2. Opening of mail

Article 61

The specifically designated employee of the court shall open all the mail delivered to the court, except for the mail sent directly to the court President, marked as “confidential” or sent directly to the investigative judge.

If an employee of the court receives mail he is not authorized to open, he shall make a brief note of reception on the envelope (seal no. 11), and shall hand over the mail to the court President, or the investigative judge.

Article 62

The opening of mail shall be carried out so as not to violate postal stamps and seals, or any other important marks on the envelope (sender’s address, postal stickers, indication marks of papers in the envelope etc.).

The envelope of a document whose submission is linked to a certain time-frame (appeal, complaint against an indictment etc.) shall always be attached to the relevant document.

If there are several papers in a single envelope, the envelope shall be submitted attached to one of them, while the other paper shall bear a note, if necessary, as to the actual document the envelope has been attached to.

3. Paper reception certification

Article 63

If the present party so requires, a note of reception, with a relevant brief statement, shall be made in the party’s presence.

The employee tasked with mail reception is at the applicant’s request obliged to confirm the mail reception by affixing a mail reception seal (seal no. 10), on the copy of the delivered document that remains with the applicant, or by signing in the book of applicants, with a specific note on the document submitted, the number of copies, attachments etc..

At the applicant’s request, the employee tasked with mail reception is obliged to issue a written certificate on the received document linked to a time-frame.

4. Handing over received mail for processing

Article 64

The received papers shall be handed over to the employee in charge of mail reception.

Papers relating to urgent cases shall be handed over without delay, while all other papers shall be handed over during the day, at a specifically designated time.

If money, items of value, securities or some other items have been received together with a paper, a note shall be made on top of the paper with red ink and a “deposit (polog)” mark, so that further procedure can be followed in accordance with the provisions on financial and material operations.

XII - HANDLING OF CASEFILES

1. Creation of casefiles

Article 65

Received documents shall be distributed for action to registry officers that maintain appropriate registry books.

The registry officer shall register the received documents on the same day in the appropriate registry book, but if a new casefile is created with this document, he/she shall register that new casefile in the appropriate directory.

The document according to which a new casefile is created shall be placed in a folder of an appropriate color.

Article 66

Each casefile shall have a label (working number).

The casefile label consists of an abbreviation of the registry book name, item number of the registry book and the last two digits of the year in which the received document was registered in the registry book (for example K243/02).

Article 67

Casefiles must be kept in a proper and orderly fashion, which is a responsibility of the Court employees who receive cases for action (registry officer, typist, judge and archive officer).

Certain parts of the casefiles shall be inserted in a chronological order and marked with an item number “case file index”, and then glued or in another manner attached to the casefile folder.

Attachments shall be placed with the related documents. In case that this cannot be done because of the size of the attachment or other reasons, attachments shall be kept separately from the casefile, providing that a note explaining where the attachments are be placed at an appropriate place.

Article 68

In case the Court has received an untidy casefile from another court, it may return the casefile to that court to have it organized first, and if that court fails to do so, it shall inform the president of that court that the given casefile was delivered untidy.

2. Handling delivery notices and receipt notices

Article 69

Delivery notices and receipt notices (hereinafter: delivery notices) shall be inserted into the related casefile without delay.

Only those delivery notices that have permanent importance to the proceeding shall be kept permanently in the casefile.

A judge shall decide which delivery notices shall be removed from the casefile.

Delivery notices serving as evidence on delivery of a decision or other writs related to a deadline, shall be attached to the corresponding original decision.

3. Delivery of casefiles to a judge

Article 70

Registry officer shall deliver the casefile for action to a judge if no other actions need to be taken by other employees.

Casefiles of urgent nature shall be delivered immediately.

Documents related to the work of the court administration shall always be delivered to the Court President, or to the employee designated by the Court President.

4. Order of resolving cases

Article 71

After receiving a casefile, the given judge shall review, classify and according to the urgency determine the order of action.

The judge is obliged, without delay, to take into work cases that are prescribed as urgent by law, as well as cases in which the urgency of a proceeding is of special interest.

Article 72

Prior to scheduling hearings, panel sessions or public sessions, the judge shall learn about the case in detail and collect everything required in order to act upon the case.

The order of scheduling a hearing and a public session should include:

name, surname, full address and capacity of the person to be summoned;

mode of delivering a summons;

what and to which person should be delivered;

which piece of evidence and from whom shall be collected until the day which the hearing is scheduled for, and

is the casefile going to be kept in the pre-registry and by which deadline (date).

Article 73

Hearings, public sessions and panel sessions shall be recorded in the “court logbook” which is kept based on a calendar system.

Article 74

Casefiles assigned for action shall be kept by the judge only long enough for an appropriate order to be issued, i.e. an appropriate decision to be prepared, after which he/she shall return them to the registry officer.

The judge is obliged, through his order, to determine actions in relation to the casefile. The order shall be clear and complete. If a written decision is delivered with the casefile, the judge shall indicate in his order just how many copies of the order shall be made, who shall be delivered a copy of a decision and by which deadline shall the casefile be kept in the records.

Article 75

The registry officer shall act upon orders, makes appropriate entries in the registry book and afterwards delivers the casefile for action to the employee performing other tasks (copying, screening and forwarding of casefiles, making appropriate notes, etc.).

The employee acting according to the casefile order is, as a rule, obliged to place a note below the text of the order, that he/she has acted upon the order, and if not to state the reasons why.

5. Delivery and forwarding of documents

Article 76

Delivery of court decisions and other documents shall be carried out through the post office, as a rule, but it may also be carried out through the delivery service of other bodies as well as through a court employee and also directly in the Court.

Article 77

If a court decision or other documents delivered through the post office require proof of receipt, the delivery shall always be carried out in an envelope with a receipt notice. In other cases a delivery note shall be attached.

Delivery of plain (short) notices to parties shall be carried out in envelopes without delivery notices.

Article 78

Outgoing documents, as a rule, must be sent out on the same day.

Documents of urgent nature shall be sent out without delay on the same day.

Article 79

Documents delivered through Court employees shall be registered in the delivery book.

6. Records

Article 80

Records shall be made on every action taken in the proceedings, as well as on important statements and information given outside hearings by parties or other participants in the proceedings.

Article 81

When a record is not obligatory by the Law, a record may be substituted by an official note, which shall record the performed action, date and place of its execution.

An official note shall, by rule, be placed on the documents according to which the action has been taken, and shall be signed by an employee that made it.

If the note also contains a statement of parties or information received by a present party, it shall also be signed by that party.

Article 82

A “Book of panel sessions” – according to the form no. 1 shall be kept on panel sessions which the parties do not attend.

Article 83

Records on deliberation and voting shall be allocated the number of the case which was subject of the panel deliberation.

Records on deliberation and voting shall be placed in a separate envelope that shall be marked with “records on deliberation and voting” and with a date. A case number, number of the hearing records and the Court stamp shall be placed in the top right corner of the envelope.

A closed envelope with the records on deliberation and voting shall be joined with the hearing or session transcripts, and put into the appropriate casefile.

When instead of records on deliberation and voting, a note on deliberation and voting is placed on the original decision, the note shall contain the date of deliberation, name and surname of the president and panel members, the name of the rapporteur from among them, and an indication whether the decision was passed unanimously or by a majority of votes.

7. Written transcripts and screening

Article 84

All documents sent out from the Court must be written clearly and neatly without any typing or grammatical errors.

The writing of documents shall, as a rule, be made on a paper of a uniform (standard) format.

Records shall be written single-spaced.

Court decisions (verdicts or decisions) shall be written in 1.5-line spacing.

Records and court decisions cannot be written on both sides of the sheet, if the paper is of such quality that marks of letters on one side make the text on the other side of the sheet unreadable.

Article 85

Transcripts shall be made in a sufficient number of copies, pursuant to the order for delivery.

All transcripts must be carefully made so that they match the original.

Screening, as a rule, shall be performed by two employees, one of which reading the original and the other following the transcript.

8. Renewal of casefiles

Article 86

If certain casefiles or parts of casefiles are lost, damaged or destroyed, the procedure for renewal of the given casefiles shall be initiated.

Concerning the casefiles in which proceedings are in progress, the procedure for the renewal of those casefiles shall be initiated through an order by the Court President, ex officio.

Concerning the casefiles in which the proceedings have been finalized, if there is a justified reason for the renewal of the casefile, the relevant order shall be issued by the Court President, ex officio or upon the request of a party.

The casefile renewal procedure shall not be initiated after the lapse of the deadline by which the given casefiles were supposed to be kept pursuant to this Rule Book.

Article 87

Renewal of case files in which the proceedings are in progress shall be carried out by the judge to whom the case was allocated for action, and in other cases the judge appointed by the Court President.

Only those parts of the casefile that are significant for the proceedings shall be renewed.

Renewal shall be performed on the basis of transcripts of missing, damaged or destroyed casefiles at the disposal of parties and the Court, information form registry books or supporting books and, if needed, on the basis of consenting statements of parties, witnesses, experts, attorneys and other persons that participated in the proceedings.

Article 88

Requests for the renewal of casefiles in which the proceedings are in progress shall be registered in the registry book in which the casefile has been registered.

Requests for the renewal of casefiles in which the proceedings have been finalized shall be recorded in the Court registry book, and after renewal, the casefiles shall be registered in the appropriate registry book under new item numbers, while the “renewed file” label shall be placed on the casefile folder.

XIII – WORK IN THE REGISTRY

Procedure with casefiles

Article 89

Employees of the Court, within the limits of the powers falling under their scope of activities, shall be responsible for a proper, timely and duly handling of cases.

The registry officer shall be responsible for ensuring that judges and other employees return cases timely in order to register all changes in the registry books.

The registry officer or another authorized employee shall be obliged to regularly, at least once a month, inform the Court President about the decisions that have not been prepared in writing.

XIV - ARCHIVES

Article 90

Prior to placing a case into the archives, one should check if the file has been properly organized, whether it contains all the documents that should be set aside (attached and other items) or whether the case is closed.

Article 91

Closed cases from the previous and the current year, if necessary, may be placed in a specially designated cabinet of the reference archive.

If the closed cases are not kept in the reference archive, they shall be forwarded for further safekeeping in the archive.

Certain items of historic, scientific or political significance, as well as other items for which the Court President decides so, shall be kept in a special place, while a note shall be placed in their place at the archive indicating the new place of safekeeping.

Registry books and directories from previous years shall be kept in the archive, if not needed for the current work.

Article 92

Cases in the archive shall be organized according to the type of court proceedings, according to item numbers of the file label of certain registry books. Cases stored at the archive shall be put into special folders. An abbreviation of the label and year of the case shall be put on the front page of the folder cover, as well as the numbers of cases placed in a certain folder (e.g. K-2001/51-100).

Article 93

Cases stored into the archive may be issued only on the basis of a written request of the President or a judge of that Court.

The written request shall be placed in the place of the issued casefile, while maintaining a separate list of issued cases.

Cases stored in the archive may be issued to other courts, or other state bodies, only on the basis of a written permission by the Court President.

The employee managing the archive shall at least once a month check if the issued cases have been returned within the set time-limits. If the employee finds out that casefiles have not been returned within the set time-limits, he/she shall undertake measures to ensure their return.

Article 94

It is a duty of the Court employee managing the archive to inform the Court President about the state of the archive and recommend measures to be taken to protect the archive from humidity and fire, as well as from other types of damage, destruction and theft.

Article 95

Safekeeping, selection and issuance of casefiles, registry books, directories and other sub-ledger books shall be performed pursuant to the provisions of special regulations on archive material and archive services.

Article 96

Criminal casefiles in which prison sentences exceeding ten years have been handed down shall be kept permanently and not issued to the State archive, unless otherwise provided by the Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina or another regulation.

Article 97

Second-instance casefiles and casefiles concerning extraordinary legal remedies may be set aside from the archive after five years, unless otherwise provided by the Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina or another regulation.

Article 98

Registry books and directories shall be kept for the period of keeping the pertaining casefiles.

XV – REGISTRY BOOKS AND SUB-LEDGER RECORDS

1. Common provisions

Article 99

The court shall keep registry books and sub-ledger records as provided for by the provisions set forth in this Book of Rules.

The court can, if necessary, keep other sub-ledger books.

Article 100

Registry books shall consist of a necessary number of paper sheets of the prescribed format bound in a hard cover book.

Registry books shall be kept separately for particular types of cases.

The cover shall bear the registry book mark and the given year which the registry book relates to.

Article 101

Registry books shall be kept in such a manner that at any given time one should be able to tell the stage of the proceedings in a specific case, where the case stands, as well as the general state of affairs in the Court in relation to the specific type of cases.

After working hours, registry books and sub-ledger records shall be kept in closed cabinets or bookcases.

Article 102

Entering of papers in registry books shall be made in the chronological order.

Each case in the registry books shall be kept under the same item number until the completion of the proceedings.

Article 103

Entries into registry books and sub-ledger records shall be made using a ballpoint pen or a pen.

Records on a casefile movement and other temporary notes shall be entered with led pencil and deleted once they have become obsolete.

Article 104

Entries cannot be deleted or annulled in any manner.

If a case has been erroneously entered, it shall be crossed out using a red ink pen/pencil throughout the horizontal row, with a diagonal line starting from the bottom left corner towards the upper right corner, while the “erroneous entry“ note shall be made in the notes and remarks section.

The case entered after the erroneously entered case shall be allocated the following item number.

Other erroneous entries in the registry books and sub-ledger records shall be crossed out with thin horizontal line, so that the crossed out text remains legible.

Article 105

Pending cases received during the expiring year shall be registered for the following year by entering only item numbers of those cases on the front page of the registry book. All entries related to the cases shall be made in the previous registry book.

Once the case is closed, a mark “L” shall be placed next to the item number under which the case was registered in the previous registry book, while in the list under the previous paragraph, the corresponding item number shall be crossed out.

2. Types of registry books

Article 106

The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall keep the following registry books:

Registry book of search warrants for apartments, premises, persons, seizure of objects, etc. – Krn – based on the form no. 2.

Registry book of the criminal panel – Kv – based on the form no. 3;

Registry book for first-instance criminal cases – K – based on the form no. 4:

Registry book for various criminal cases – Kr – based on the form no. 5:

Registry book for pardoned cases - Kp – based on the form no. 6;

Registry book for second-instance criminal cases - Kž – based on the form no. 7;

Registry book for extraordinary legal remedies in criminal proceedings – request for protection of legality – Kvlz, and motion for retrial - Kvlp – based on the form no.8;

Registry book for election appeals - Iž – based on the form no. 9;

Registry book for administrative proceedings - U – based on the form no.10;

Registry book for second-instance administrative appeals - Už – based on the form no.11;

Registry book for extraordinary legal remedies in administrative proceedings - Uvl – based on the form no. 12;

Registry book for various administrative cases - Ur – based on the form no. 13;

Registry book for cases in the extradition procedure - Eks – based on the form no. 14;

Registry book for court administration cases - Su – based on the form no. 15.

3. Directories

Article 107

Directories shall also be kept together with registry books.

Directories shall be kept in the alphabetical order.

Article 108

Directories for registry books for criminal cases shall be kept by the initial letter of the defendant’s surname – based on the form no. 16.

Directories for registry books for administrative cases and election appeals shall be kept by the initial letter of the plaintiff’s or complainant’s surname – based on the form no. 17.

As for other registry books, directories shall be kept by the initial letter of the surname, or the name of the entity initiating the case – based on the form no. 18.

Personal directories – based on the form no. 19, and subject-matter directories – based on the form no. 19a, shall be kept for the “Su” type registry books.

4. Other sub-ledger records

Article 109

The Court shall keep a “Book of suspended sentences” – Kuo – based on the form no. 20, a “Book on seized objects” – Kdp – based on the form no. 21, and a “Proceedings expense records” on the costs the party was relieved from paying - Ktp – based on the form no. 22.

The court shall also keep an “Internal delivery book” – Idk – based on the form no.23.

XVI - SEALS, FORMS AND STAMPS

Article 110

The Court shall have a seal, whose shape, content and mode of utilization shall be regulated by the Law on the Seal of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (“Official Gazette of BiH”, no. 12/98).

Article 111

For particular recurring duties, the court may use forms prepared and copied by the Court itself.

Article 112

For specific short and frequent notes, signatures, markings and similar actions, suitable stamps shall be in use.

The following stamps are regulated as mandatory by this Book of Rules:

Urgent (stamp no. 1)

Juvenile (stamp no. 2)

Pretrial custody (stamp no. 3)

Typists stamp (stamp no. 4)

Verification of the accuracy of the transcript (stamp no. 5)

Confirmation that the decision is final and binding (stamp no. 6)

Confirmation of the decision’s enforceability (stamp no. 7)

Delivery of an appeal for response (stamp no. 8)

Delivery of an indictment for response (stamp no. 9)

Receipt of court papers (stamp no. 10)

Receipt of court papers (a short note) (stamp no. 11).

XVII – FINANCIAL AND MATERIAL OPERATION

Article 113

Financial and material operations of the Court, besides budgetary, also include extra-budgetary operations, performed pursuant to the provisions set forth in this Book of Rules.

Article 114

Financial transactions with parties shall be conducted separately from budgetary ones, and shall be performed pursuant to the provisions of court proceedings, other regulations and provisions of the Book of Rules.

Article 115

The Court President, the judge designated through distribution of tasks as the order-issuing authority, and the financial operations manager, shall be responsible for financial operations with parties.

Article 116

Financial operations with parties shall be conducted pursuant to an order by the judge in the given case.

All cash receipts and payments shall be registered in the prescribed records, as stipulated in financial regulations.

A note on the payment made shall be entered into the casefile, including the item number of the relevant logbook mark under which the entry has been made.

Article 117

Cash shall be received and issued based on receipts, certificates or records that are kept as pecuniary documents, with a signature of the recipient in an appropriate section of business books and records.

Article 118

As a rule, the Court shall not accept any cash payments directly from the party, but shall instruct the party to make the payment towards the Court bank account.

Exceptionally, and that only in particularly warranted cases, the Court may receive cash directly, and shall issue the party with a relevant receipt, keeping a copy of the receipt as a cashier’s document.

Cash receipt, pursuant to the provisions set forth in the Book of Rules, shall be entered in the “cash deposit records” – in accordance with the form no. 24 and a “cash deposit logbook” – in accordance with the form no. 25.

Article 119

Upon the completion of the financial year, all financial books and records for cash transactions with parties shall be concluded in analog with regulations in effect for budgetary operations.

XVIII – TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 120

The Court shall regulate through a special decision salaries and other compensations for judges and appointed persons.

The Court shall, based on a proposal from the Chief Registrar, issue a decision regulating salaries and other compensations for other employees in the Court.

General decisions of the Court shall be made by a majority of votes of all judges.

Article 121

Forms of registry books, directories, delivery records, cash payment records and mandatory stamps are enclosed with this Book of Rules, constituting its integral part.

Article 122

The Book of Rules of the Court shall be published in the “Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, and other special acts in a manner determined by the Court.

Article 123

This Book of Rules shall enter into force on the day of its formal adoption.

No. Su - 07/02,

20 June 2002 Sarajevo

The court of Bosnia and Herzegovina

President

Martin Raguz

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