ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: “STRATEGIC IMPROVEMENT OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION”
Sarajevo, April 2022
In the organization of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJPC) and the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina (DEU), representatives of the relevant ministries of justice, as well as the business and academic community, were invited to actively participate in the process of construction a more modern legislative framework for alternative dispute resolution.
On this occasion, on April 22th a roundtable was organized with the aim of opening a reasoned dialogue with representatives of the business and academic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to consider the issue of the necessity of systemic improvement of the system of alternative dispute resolution (ARS) in BiH, as well as the issue strategic development proposed in the draft Strategy for the improvement of ARS.
At the invitation of the Supreme Court of Justice, in view of his academic title, as well as his legal profession Jovana Pušac, PhD, Attorney at Law.
The alternative dispute resolution system in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARS) includes arbitration and mediation procedures, as well as court settlement, and aims to resolve disputes more quickly and economically. The application of these methods would contribute to a significant reduction of cases before the courts, but at the same time preserve the business relationship between the parties. However, unfortunately, none of the ARS methods have fully taken root in BiH, nor is there a positive trend in their use despite the significant efforts of the HJPC and DEU in BiH.
The creation of conditions for a more efficient ARS system is possible, primarily, through legislative changes, systemic improvement of the capacity of institutions/organizations and professionals who provide various types of ARS services, and raising the awareness of citizens and business entities about the advantages of ARS compared to regular court decision-making.
Jovana Pušac emphasized at this important meeting that raising the awareness of citizens and the business community, among other things, starts at the law faculties, where more attention needs to be paid to cases in the area of ARS, especially arbitration.