PRESS RELAESE
LJUBLJANA, 7 June 2023 – Directors of International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES[1]) from Ljubljana, Bakhatyar Aljaf and Dr. Zijad Bećirović today received Halil Lagumdžija, President of High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HJCP BiH)) and Admir Suljagić, Director of the HJPC BiH Secretariat.
In a longer conversation, they exchanged views on current events in the Western Balkans, paying particular attention to the rule of law in order to ensure stability and peace in the region. The directors presented the activities of the institute and new projects in the current year with an emphasis on Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the institute has intensified its presence in the last few years.
The President of the HJPC BiH, Halil Lagumdžija, presented the activities of the HJPC BiH and the challenges they face, stressing that it is necessary to improve the overall social environment for the rule of law. The HJPC BiH will insist on establishing the rule of law, professionalism and independence of judicial institutions and holders of judicial functions.
The HJPC BiH delegation thanked for the reception and the useful exchange of opinions and expressed the desire for greater involvement of legal experts from the institute in BiH and the region and praised the institute's work so far, which is important for ensuring the stability of peace in the region.
In the end, the directors of IFIMES expressed their support for the work of the HJPC BiH and the efforts made to affirm rights and create a functional and independent judiciary, and offered the possibility of organizing joint events in the coming period, which would contribute to this aim.
Ljubljana, 7 June 2023
[1] IFIMES - International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, has Special Consultative status at ECOSOC/UN, New York since 2018 and is a publisher of international scientific journal «European Perspectives«.
